Thanks to my audience for flagging two small but noteworthy factual errors in this video: - Quelana *does not* teach chaos pyromancies. These are only attainable from the Fair Lady and the chest outside the Bed of Chaos - Jeremiah is *not* the "only named King" in Dark Souls 1; there is also Knight King Rendall. Neither of these facts have substantive implications on the theories presented in the video, but I wanted to note them for the record.
I really enjoyed your video! My alternative theory is that he was a king of Oolacile, and was consumed with gaining more power. He was among the scholars who unearthed Manus with the help of Kaathe, and quickly fled when it overwhelmed Oolacile. He learned of Lost Izalith and Pyromancies from a wandering Pyromancer who entered Oolacile (whom created the Black Flame). Looking to continulously gain more power, he left for Lost Izalith to learn of the Fire Sorceries there. Once he gained what he desired, the last thing to gain would be the power to kill gods, the power of Lifehunt, found in the Painted World and ability of Priscilla. He mimicked this ability by using a whip that causes Bleed, though once he actually attempted to actually fight Priscilla, he was killed, and his clothes was left at the exit of this world. The scholars likely heard he was a king of Oolacile, and based their attire off him and Elizabeth, a renowned healer in DSI and II.
Good theory! I think it's pretty much undeniable that Jeremiah has a connection to Oolacile, but the reason I don't think he was from Oolacile originally is because his character in DS1 has no connections to it. He doesn't cast sorceries at all, let alone golden light sorceries, which you'd think would be part of his repertoire if he started in Oolacile and went to Izalith later. Starting in Izalith and ending up in Oolacile, I think, helps make sense of his use of pyromancies and lack of connection to sorcery. But no matter what, I think you're right that the DS3 scholars (who are obsessed with Oolacile) must learn of Jeremiah somehow, and he must have some significance to Oolacile!
@@Reliken Maybe his lack of sorceries could be explained by the parasite demon incident that happened in Izalith? So maybe he was a sorcerer and scholar in Oolacile, he was exiled (maybe for researching lost pyromancies?) and ended up in Izalith, where Chaos had already taken over, and there the parasite demon transformation happened which made him lose his sorcery abilities but gain pyromancy abilities. Then he became a king of Izalith in the demon society as his new demon self, was captured by the gods during the war and imprisoned in the painted world. Would that work?
A mold which is Hеysel grown on her head and left hand is actually a very disturbing feature, considering that xanthous somehow related with mushrooms. And the blood on her crown clearly indicates that her condition is painful, what coud have brought her to the Mother of Rebirth.
Alternatively Jeremiah adopted the head wrapping disguise because yellow clad scholars with abnormally larger hats were allready known and running about
This is like a year late, but at 5:20 you mention the original boss was a "King Izalith" that would sit on a throne. Well, Bed of Chaos is actually sitting on her "throne" when you first enter the boss arena. Only the first time though so most people dont notice. H/T Zullie The Witch for this trivia.
Great theory! Part of the lovecraft king in yellow is he travels to different lands and influences them, creating cults and controlling people. Also he is a demon is disguise essentially. It actually fits pretty well and maybe there is more we can infer about his story that way. Like, he was this mysterious king who came and ingratiated himself into olicile society, had huge influence, fathered a princess. Heck for all we know he became the king of that place too, then bailed after it went to the hell. Just like what happened in izilith. Maybe he has some mysterious agenda.
Maybe he was deep down opposed to the gods. Or maybe he was an agent sent by them to corrupt societies from within! Or maybe he working with kaathe! Or maybe he just had a gross head.
Something of note, but not lore implications, is that the Xanthous Hood has origins in Demon's Souls, as the robes of the old monk are a life draining demon which enslaves others. It also becomes a big swirly hat and summons an invader. Also, couldn't he have been exiled from Oolacile for practicing pyromancy, and then gone to Izalith and become deformed by his pursuits for power? I mean, no matter what, he gets tossed in the Painted World and... well who knows. Although Prescilla knows how to go invisible, that's a very Oolacile magic, Hidden Body and Hidden Weapon in one. Thank goodness she can't use Fall Control and cancel her footprints.
Ah, good. I actually came here to say this. I’m glad someone brought it up. Additionally the King in Yellow was a concept of Ambrose Bierce, it was then utilized by Robert W. Chambers, then by Lovecraft. Lovecraft hinted at a character with a yellow mask, but was only made part of the Cthulhu mythos later on.
And what about the Xanthous outfit bestowed by becoming a Pilgrim of Dark? The dark in Drangleic guards these items and I find it fascinating for the king in yellow is the avatar of a very dark god that should not be named. Also, thank you for this awesome video!
I have an idea why Jeremiah was exiled. Simply put, I believe Izalith doesn't like parasitic wall huggers. Look at his supposed son, "prince izalith", he's a fair distance from his kingdom. The demons most likely found his form disgusting and threw him into Blighttown to rot away. He's not as menacing yet respectable as the Taurus and Capra demons, and not as intangibly terrifying as the Chaos eaters. He shouldn't exist, like Ceaseless discharge, who was only granted mercy, and the Centipede Demon, who by all means is a living accident. Jeremiah, seeing this and slowly turning into one himself, covered his bulbous head in wrappings and fled in fear.
Maybe Jeremiah invented light sorceries, because after the chaos flame incident, he was scarred by the experience, terrified of flames, and wanted to create sorceries that could create light without fire?
Perhaps they have no true connection, but merely look to the Xanthous King as not an exile, but as a traveler. One who perseveres even when cut off from their homeland. I imagine it’s something to admire when venturing out for sorceries long lost.
11:15 I can't believe this only occurred to me now, but I have a little something to add to that. Jeremiah *does* have a connection to Oolacile in DS1; Priscilla's ability to make herself invisible. The only other place this ability is displayed in is Oolacile.
Interesting because Priscilla has the Lifehunt scythe which ties her to the Darkwraiths of the Abyss and Kaathe once again. We also know Kirk is at least nominally a Darkwraith, but he's still actively protecting Izalith's secrets while collecting humanities for his Fair Lady. Kirk seems to connect Izalith with the Abyss. If his true intentions were known... 🤔
You know what would’ve been awesome? That the yellow Crown was the only Headwear you can equip while being infected and if you ever purge yourself it reverts back to it’s Demons Souls.
That would be sick. With the added effect of extra magical prowess but more magic damage taken! Just like the madness of the golden cloth in demons souls
I think you’ve got it backwards; I think Jeremiah was king of oolacile and he was exiled for some reason. The events of the dlc take place hundreds of years before the game itself and, potentially, even before the advent of the chaos flame. I believe he may have been one of the first pyromancers and thus knows chaos pyromancies. His crown probably originally resembled the ds3 version but due to the corrupting growth, it no longer keeps its original shape.
Chaos almost certainly predates the fall of Oolacile. Gwyn was still in power when the Chaos Flame was created, since he fought demons and we know from Frampt Gwyn linked the Fire around a thousand years before the events of Dark Souls 1. The DLC, on the other hand, takes places around 200-300 years before those events, according to an interview with Namco Bandai's Daisuke Uchiyama. Also I see no reason why the Abyss would be created before the First Sin (linking the flame). Why would Kaathe need to act? The natural order is not disturbed yet.
He probably got exiled for studying pyromancies in a sorcery based society I remember something in dark souls 1 about sorcerers looking down on pyromancers
To add on to what @adenrius said, Quelana says 1000 years is surely enough time to be "punished" in reference to her mother and sister's creation of the chaos flame, which combines with the game producer Daisuke Uchiyama's statement in an interview that the DLC takes place 300 years ago, it pretty much confirms that chaos predates the events in Oolacile.
You know, ever since I first played through Dark Souls 1's DLC I wondered why there was a dark pyromancy found there. I always assumed that it was just a random character who happened to be there as the Abyss was forming in Oolacile, but this video has me thinking that it could have been Jeremiah who developed the spell. The Abyss uprooting the whole area could have been what led to him being revealed as a demon to those in Anor Londo, too. Very interesting stuff to think about.
@@Reliken Just to add to the hmm... Big Hat Logan also invites some madness as he deteriorates to a hollow... do we know if Jeremiah in the Painted World has gone hollow too?
Great video! Maybe, just like Jeremiah used the Xanthos set to hide his deformed appearance, Heysel wears the set and headpiece to hide that she's close to becoming a grub?
Interesting - I hadn't thought about that, but it could be! The one wrinkle here is Orbeck suggests *all* xanthous scholars wear ridiculous headwear, and presumably not all xanthous scholars are fingers of Rosaria. A close examination of Heysel's concept art definitely does reveal some weiiiiiird stuff going on under her robes, though. If nothing else, she and Jeremiah share an interesting connection in that regard.
This is such a high quality video and your voice is perfect for this kind of explanation. You definitely have potential and if you keep doing these videos especially when the new from soft game comes out you could rival vaati.
Thank you very much! I don't want to try to redo topics others (Vaati) have already nailed, but I'd love to cover new material. Elden Ring may be a good opportunity!
I'm glad I'm not the only one intrigued by the Xanthous Scholars and King Jeremiah. It's a shame that this subject was given so little attention by the more well-known lore channels. Superb video!
Thank you very much for the comment! The one plus is that I was able to cover a subject that I haven't seen done anywhere else - and I don't necessarily want to just retell a story that Vaati types have already told! ;)
Holy shit. 297 subs??? This video was such high quality! I can guarantee if you were to make more like this I'd be here every time with a bag of popcorn.
Sick, planning a Xanthous themed lore invader for DS3 and this video is pretty cool to inform that. Probably just gonna be a general heysel pick mage/pyro, but still. Love the use of Disco Elysium OST too, that Autopsy track is so unsettling to me lol
Funny enough, today’s Bible Verse is “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose Trust is the Lord. *-Jeremiah* 17:7 Just a fun coincidence that just happened today. I suppose it does relate a little bit though. King Jeremiah was a Pyromancer. And a gifted one at that. You could say his devotion to the flame exalted him amongst his people. As Lordship in this series is practically synonymous with fire.
I think the missing link is Elizabeth the Mushroom. She already told a lie about the Chosen Undead and Artorias, if the Demons were persecuted, would she lie for the sake of protecting someone else? Dire straights if Jeremiah is the dad of Dusk. Hmmm. Also, what is the difference between her as a species and the mushrooms that have limbs and inhabit old Oolacile and Ash Lake?
Wouldn't Oolacile happen first? Perhaps Jerimiah was the king of Oolacile and founded the order before Oolacile was consumed by the abyss. Seeing this darkness corrupt his home and subjects, he vowed to never let the first flame to die out, and went to Izalith to assist in the creation of the Chaos, offering his immense knowledge of sorceries.
If Jeremiah was in Oolacile first, you'd expect he would use sorceries - the hallmark of Oolacile. But he doesn't use any, light or otherwise. That's why I don't think Oolacile is his original home.
2 notes: blindfolds are often if not only (correct me if im wrong) used by pyromancers and xanthou is wearing full face cover of cloth similar to a blindfold without eye holes. 2. ["always fear the flame or else youll ne devoured by it and loose youself, i would hate to see that happen again."] quelana might have meant her mother, but fitting to this theory, she might be refering to another student of chaos pyromancy: jeremiah.
Excellent video on a figure that I found very interesting in DS lore! Congratulations! I agree with pretty much everything you said. I also think that the theory about Jeremiah being infected by a parasite on his head is further hinted by Jeremiah's resemblance to the Old Monk of Demon's Souls, whose collar subjucates its vessel according to the Golden Robe description. There is also the Xanthous Crown in DS2 which was worn by the Xanthous King and could have had some purpose, according to the description. And I think the purpose could be hiding the parasite indeed. Another thing that may be intersting: a phantom wearing the Xanthous Set appears in the Dark Chasm of Old in DS2. He uses the pyromancy Forbidden Sun, "developped in Aldian Rites". There is a single white tree in DS2 if I remember correctly, which is found in the small lake before the King's Door leading to Aldia's Keep. Also I'm not sure how reliable it is, the DS2 guide book names the Xanthous Guy in the Dark Chasm "Pretender to the Xanthous Crown", and reads "A traveler of the Dark Chasm of Old, this Dark Spirit casts an unmistakable shadow and attacks with an array of deadly Pyromancy. But could it really be…?". Once again, solid work.
Ahhh, you know, I decided to not touch on the DS2 set at all, but I think you hit the one bit of relevance it has to this theory here. Thanks for pointing that out. Is the white tree in DS2 similar to the white birch trees of DS3 (which have ties to Oolacile)? If so, that's pretty interesting...
Yes, I forgot to mention Oolacile but that was the reason why I brought the White Tree up. I think it's possible that this NPC (which imo could be Jeremiah, if we trust the guidebook) could have worked together with Aldia at some points.
What do you think about crown of Xanthous King being exchanged to FAP ring ? the one which can be obtained by fighting with Lautrec of Carim (who is also golden) and linked to Fina, goddess of love. Another fun fact is Xanthous King is highly resistible to occult dmg which suggests he was part of plot against the gods (which would also explain why we meet him in the painting).
This is also discussed in Hawkshaw's video and I think they make a really compelling case for a Jeremiah/Fina connection. I think it's possible for these facts to all reconcile with each other: perhaps Jeremiah is a lover to the witch, has an affair with Fina, Chaos goes out of control, people become demons, and Jeremiah eventually chooses to leave and winds up in Oolacile. It's possible he is exiled form Izalith, which Hawkshaw argues, but the reason I prefer the idea of him being exiled from Oolacile is because that then creates a possible justification for why there are no apparent connections between Jeremiah and Oolacile - they were erased! If he was banished from Izalith and ended up choosing to leave Oolacile of his own accord, you'd expect he have more obvious connections. I did not know about the occult damage resistance! That is fascinating.
great video man, i’d never put much thought into the xanthous headgear except thinking it was mildly funny lol. it’s amazing how deep and interconnected the world of dark souls is when you put the effort into finding it👍🏻👍🏻subbed
I would love to! Though I feel like a lot of the subjects I'm interested in have already been covered pretty thoroughly. What would you like to see my tackle?
There's untranslated lore that in Japanese heavily leans towards Jeremiah being the King of Izalith yeah. Loki.... Or lokee? Lol, I don't know how his name was spelled, but he found a bunch of references in the original Japanese to Izalith in regards to Jeremiah. I kind of feel bad for the guy though. You're the King of the second most powerful civilization after Gwyn's own Anor Londo, but your wife is both a Goddess and the Mother of an entire race. Dude was just a trophy husband. Lmao! There's some more translations that hint at his exile being a result of his wife just not needing him anymore. All he was was a potential challenge to her authority, however small.
Maybe the chaos flame came from some iteration of oolacile magic. Izalith staff has the description that says it's sorceries predate pyromancies in izalith.
Maybe jeremiah was the king of oolacile(that's why the name yellow king) and father to dusk. Since city of oolacile was loyal to the gods, he was summoned by gywn to help the witch of izalith recreate the first flame (they may have required light soceries of oolacile for recreation process). He was either a proficient pyromancer before he went to izalith or learned pyromany during his time in izalith. Also, during his time in izalith he may have had a child (with the witch of izalith) or maybe he came to izalith with his child (prince izalith). We know how the flame recreation process went. Since jeremiah didn't fully transformed into a demon he fled to anor londo to inform about their failure and the consequences it bore. Realizing that he may also one day transform into a demon, gwyn exiled him into the painted world where he died(or just planted his armour on someone else and fled the painting). Srry for any mistake in my english :)
Great video! I’m also heavily interested in the lore behind Xanthous scholars. Im trying to work on a xanthous scholar build for Ds3 that utilizes some of the golden sorceries, though it is quite tricky.
too bad the golden sorceries are mainly misc spells rather than offensive spells the interesting one has to be the light source but you never get to use it in the game
@@Reliken You're welcome. They really like wordplay in these games. Xanthous King may also be a reference to a slave called Xanthias that appears in some of Aristophanes' plays (The Demon of Song (skullfrog from DS2) is a reference to Aristophanes' play, The Frogs.) Xanthias is also a genus of burrowing crab like those found in the swamp and the painting.
The Yellow King Hastur & Carcosa literally feature in Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos, & this is almost certainly where Miyazaki would’ve known them from. Or maybe he could see the future & watched True Detective season 1 before it released. 🤔
My conclusion to your explanation went the other way. That he was originally from Oolacile but kind of an outcast, a different thinker. His curiosity lead him to be part of the unearthing of Manus( after Kaath had wispered in Xanthous and other ears), a deed that made Oolacile exile him. Once he was exiled, he remember Kaath´s words about Izalith and the new, different types of magic that could be discovered there. come ds3, of Oolacile only memories remain, passed down through people that had contact with elizabeth. But those memories became fuzzy with time and when the xanthous order was created they misunderstood Xanthous curiosity as a good thing.
I put something similar in another comment, but the reason I don't think he was from Oolacile originally is because his character has no connections to it. He doesn't cast any sorceries, let alone light sorceries, which you'd think would be part of his repertoire if he started in Oolacile and went to Izalith later. Though, I guess if he was an "outsider" even in Oolacile, and maybe he practice pyromancy instead of sorcery, this could explain that fact (and also provide a reason for his ultimate exile). If he did go to Izalith later though, I don't think he was seeking lost flame sorceries - nothing about Jeremiah suggests an interest in magic beyond pyromancy, and the xanthous scholars aren't interested in just any-old lost magic but, instead, only Oolacile's lost magic. Either way, I think there's some merit to this. Where Jeremiah starts/ends up is, I think, the fuzziest part of this whole thing.
@@Reliken My idea is precisely that he was diferent from the other people from oolacile. they were peacefull, he more of a fighert. after his exile he would have learned pyromancy( just another for of magic, if you will, one that suited him more) and just left behinnd the weakeling light magic of his homeland, one that was also becoming increasingly less relevant as the world once again prepared for war- demons VS Gods.
Hmmmmmm! I love those characters, but I feel like they've already been covered pretty effectively by other folks. Do you have any thoughts about aspects of their characters you haven't seen explored before?
It's suddenly struck me that there's seemingly a gap in the leadership structure of dark souls' settings, or at least a lack of knowledge thereof. We hear much of named members royal families, the big higher ups, but duke seathe and pontiff sulyvanh are about as granular as we get. But who would have governed oolacile if not for the princess A monarch of oolacile? The monarch if lordran? Or a mayor or religious figure? Same goes for places like the undead townships in the early parts of ds1 and 3 (though I imagine they weren't called "undead ____" back when their leadership was still around). If I'm wrong an explanation would be really appreciated, it could be that that information is known and I just haven't seen it yet, I wouldn't be surprised
The Golden Scroll seems to disprove this but isn't chaos not too far away from Farron Keep. As time shifts I thought Chaos was now relatively underneath Farron Keep/Oolacile, maybe the light they study is from chaos after all?
Xanthaous means yellow. Jerimah wears that crown to cover a growth, and he uses chaos fire whip. He is most likely associated with the witch of Izalith. Any lore after that, has been added and over the course of time, I doubt it really brings back in to the original lore.
It's easy to actually look back into mostly unfinished characters and works from original settings and writings and change their original unrevealed purpose to fit some new lore and descriptions, a lot of writers do it all the time. Plus there's also the 'death of the author' bit where whatever the original intention or goal doesn't matter, it's the interpretation that matters.
The painted world is the lost city of carcosa. Along the shore the cloud waves break, The twin suns sink behind* the lake, The shadows lengthen In Carcosa. Strange is the night where black stars rise, And strange moons circle through the skies But stranger still is Lost Carcosa. Songs that the Hyades shall sing, Where flap the tatters of the King, Must die unheard in Dim Carcosa. Song of my soul, my voice is dead; Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed Shall dry and die in Lost Carcosa.
Good video, are you going to make more Darksouls Lore? Lokey gives the best deduced theory on Xanthous being the Husand of the Witch, and that he may have had an affair with a certain goddess with a Fateful beauty.
Thanks! I'm not sure - I'm interested, but I don't want to spend time tackling subjects that have already been explored effectively by other creators. If I come up with new theories/angles or find another interesting less-explored area, I would like to make more! And - I definitely think there's a good argument to be made about Jeremiah's having a relationship with Fina! The trade with Snuggly in particular really makes this compelling.
Oh, one small thing. You say multiple times in this video that Jeremiah is the only named king, but what about the Knight King Rendal? It's not a huge deal but I thought of him when you said that
If you’re still around consider making some videos about Elden Ring! You’ve got better presentation than half the other guys and interesting ideas, easy views with a good thumbnail/title!
Thanks! I am still around, nearing an end to my first playthrough! I haven't processed enough of the lore yet to have a cogent story to share, but I think I'm going to try to make a video about the Raya Lucaria Academy!
He isn't part of the lore. He was going to be, but they ran out of time/scrapped him and threw him into the painted world because that's where cut content belongs.
What if Oolacile sorcery was started as an extension of Izalith, through the Xanthus King? No magics seem to exist before the First Flame and souls hit the scene, the evolution of pyromancies beyond fire manipulation prove pyromancy's methods could do all kinds of things, and from there it isn't too far a leap to draw on the soul of oneself instead of a pyromancy flame. Calling the Witch of Izalith's original craft "flame sorcery" fits this hybrid idea--sorcery with a flame's soul that might augment one's own, bringing the risk of one's soul being consumed.* Even making the color of Oolacile sorceries yellow instead of red or blue could be a hint of a merging of ways; or a third path, next to blue sorceries from oneself and red flame sorceries/pyromancies from some other power gripped in the hand. *iirc Hawkshaw may discuss stuff near this idea in the Demons video, specifically around the making of the Chaos Flame.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 87 วันนี้!! คู่เอก "ก้องชัย vs โชคปรีชา"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YN6e7HVnekw/mqdefault.jpg)
![Oolacile is Darkroot in the past [Dark Souls DLC time-travel shown side-by-side]](/img/n.gif)
Thanks to my audience for flagging two small but noteworthy factual errors in this video:
- Quelana *does not* teach chaos pyromancies. These are only attainable from the Fair Lady and the chest outside the Bed of Chaos
- Jeremiah is *not* the "only named King" in Dark Souls 1; there is also Knight King Rendall.
Neither of these facts have substantive implications on the theories presented in the video, but I wanted to note them for the record.
Lore in dark souls that seems insignificant but ends up making a lot of sense with other bits of lore are what keep me going in life
Same here - I could watch (and do watch...) hours and hours of DS lore content.
I really enjoyed your video! My alternative theory is that he was a king of Oolacile, and was consumed with gaining more power. He was among the scholars who unearthed Manus with the help of Kaathe, and quickly fled when it overwhelmed Oolacile. He learned of Lost Izalith and Pyromancies from a wandering Pyromancer who entered Oolacile (whom created the Black Flame). Looking to continulously gain more power, he left for Lost Izalith to learn of the Fire Sorceries there. Once he gained what he desired, the last thing to gain would be the power to kill gods, the power of Lifehunt, found in the Painted World and ability of Priscilla. He mimicked this ability by using a whip that causes Bleed, though once he actually attempted to actually fight Priscilla, he was killed, and his clothes was left at the exit of this world.
The scholars likely heard he was a king of Oolacile, and based their attire off him and Elizabeth, a renowned healer in DSI and II.
Good theory! I think it's pretty much undeniable that Jeremiah has a connection to Oolacile, but the reason I don't think he was from Oolacile originally is because his character in DS1 has no connections to it. He doesn't cast sorceries at all, let alone golden light sorceries, which you'd think would be part of his repertoire if he started in Oolacile and went to Izalith later.
Starting in Izalith and ending up in Oolacile, I think, helps make sense of his use of pyromancies and lack of connection to sorcery. But no matter what, I think you're right that the DS3 scholars (who are obsessed with Oolacile) must learn of Jeremiah somehow, and he must have some significance to Oolacile!
@@Reliken Maybe his lack of sorceries could be explained by the parasite demon incident that happened in Izalith? So maybe he was a sorcerer and scholar in Oolacile, he was exiled (maybe for researching lost pyromancies?) and ended up in Izalith, where Chaos had already taken over, and there the parasite demon transformation happened which made him lose his sorcery abilities but gain pyromancy abilities. Then he became a king of Izalith in the demon society as his new demon self, was captured by the gods during the war and imprisoned in the painted world. Would that work?
A mold which is Hеysel grown on her head and left hand is actually a very disturbing feature, considering that xanthous somehow related with mushrooms. And the blood on her crown clearly indicates that her condition is painful, what coud have brought her to the Mother of Rebirth.
Alternatively Jeremiah adopted the head wrapping disguise because yellow clad scholars with abnormally larger hats were allready known and running about
This is like a year late, but at 5:20 you mention the original boss was a "King Izalith" that would sit on a throne. Well, Bed of Chaos is actually sitting on her "throne" when you first enter the boss arena. Only the first time though so most people dont notice. H/T Zullie The Witch for this trivia.
Great theory! Part of the lovecraft king in yellow is he travels to different lands and influences them, creating cults and controlling people. Also he is a demon is disguise essentially. It actually fits pretty well and maybe there is more we can infer about his story that way. Like, he was this mysterious king who came and ingratiated himself into olicile society, had huge influence, fathered a princess. Heck for all we know he became the king of that place too, then bailed after it went to the hell. Just like what happened in izilith. Maybe he has some mysterious agenda.
Maybe he was deep down opposed to the gods. Or maybe he was an agent sent by them to corrupt societies from within! Or maybe he working with kaathe!
Or maybe he just had a gross head.
Something of note, but not lore implications, is that the Xanthous Hood has origins in Demon's Souls, as the robes of the old monk are a life draining demon which enslaves others. It also becomes a big swirly hat and summons an invader.
Also, couldn't he have been exiled from Oolacile for practicing pyromancy, and then gone to Izalith and become deformed by his pursuits for power? I mean, no matter what, he gets tossed in the Painted World and... well who knows.
Although Prescilla knows how to go invisible, that's a very Oolacile magic, Hidden Body and Hidden Weapon in one. Thank goodness she can't use Fall Control and cancel her footprints.
Ah, good. I actually came here to say this. I’m glad someone brought it up.
Additionally the King in Yellow was a concept of Ambrose Bierce, it was then utilized by Robert W. Chambers, then by Lovecraft. Lovecraft hinted at a character with a yellow mask, but was only made part of the Cthulhu mythos later on.
And what about the Xanthous outfit bestowed by becoming a Pilgrim of Dark? The dark in Drangleic guards these items and I find it fascinating for the king in yellow is the avatar of a very dark god that should not be named. Also, thank you for this awesome video!
I have an idea why Jeremiah was exiled. Simply put, I believe Izalith doesn't like parasitic wall huggers. Look at his supposed son, "prince izalith", he's a fair distance from his kingdom. The demons most likely found his form disgusting and threw him into Blighttown to rot away. He's not as menacing yet respectable as the Taurus and Capra demons, and not as intangibly terrifying as the Chaos eaters. He shouldn't exist, like Ceaseless discharge, who was only granted mercy, and the Centipede Demon, who by all means is a living accident. Jeremiah, seeing this and slowly turning into one himself, covered his bulbous head in wrappings and fled in fear.
Great overview! Loved the little cinematic clips, like with how you portrayed Jeremiah's head without the wrappings.
Thank you!! I appreciate small details and I'm glad you noticed!
Maybe Jeremiah invented light sorceries, because after the chaos flame incident, he was scarred by the experience, terrified of flames, and wanted to create sorceries that could create light without fire?
Perhaps they have no true connection, but merely look to the Xanthous King as not an exile, but as a traveler. One who perseveres even when cut off from their homeland. I imagine it’s something to admire when venturing out for sorceries long lost.
11:15
I can't believe this only occurred to me now, but I have a little something to add to that. Jeremiah *does* have a connection to Oolacile in DS1; Priscilla's ability to make herself invisible. The only other place this ability is displayed in is Oolacile.
Interesting because Priscilla has the Lifehunt scythe which ties her to the Darkwraiths of the Abyss and Kaathe once again.
We also know Kirk is at least nominally a Darkwraith, but he's still actively protecting Izalith's secrets while collecting humanities for his Fair Lady.
Kirk seems to connect Izalith with the Abyss. If his true intentions were known... 🤔
King Jeremiah apparently has a pretender to his throne, and his set can be gained in Dark Souls 2.
You know what would’ve been awesome? That the yellow Crown was the only Headwear you can equip while being infected and if you ever purge yourself it reverts back to it’s Demons Souls.
That would be sick. With the added effect of extra magical prowess but more magic damage taken! Just like the madness of the golden cloth in demons souls
I think you’ve got it backwards; I think Jeremiah was king of oolacile and he was exiled for some reason. The events of the dlc take place hundreds of years before the game itself and, potentially, even before the advent of the chaos flame. I believe he may have been one of the first pyromancers and thus knows chaos pyromancies. His crown probably originally resembled the ds3 version but due to the corrupting growth, it no longer keeps its original shape.
Chaos almost certainly predates the fall of Oolacile. Gwyn was still in power when the Chaos Flame was created, since he fought demons and we know from Frampt Gwyn linked the Fire around a thousand years before the events of Dark Souls 1. The DLC, on the other hand, takes places around 200-300 years before those events, according to an interview with Namco Bandai's Daisuke Uchiyama.
Also I see no reason why the Abyss would be created before the First Sin (linking the flame). Why would Kaathe need to act? The natural order is not disturbed yet.
He probably got exiled for studying pyromancies in a sorcery based society I remember something in dark souls 1 about sorcerers looking down on pyromancers
To add on to what @adenrius said, Quelana says 1000 years is surely enough time to be "punished" in reference to her mother and sister's creation of the chaos flame, which combines with the game producer Daisuke Uchiyama's statement in an interview that the DLC takes place 300 years ago, it pretty much confirms that chaos predates the events in Oolacile.
You know, ever since I first played through Dark Souls 1's DLC I wondered why there was a dark pyromancy found there. I always assumed that it was just a random character who happened to be there as the Abyss was forming in Oolacile, but this video has me thinking that it could have been Jeremiah who developed the spell. The Abyss uprooting the whole area could have been what led to him being revealed as a demon to those in Anor Londo, too. Very interesting stuff to think about.
Interesting - the abyss sorcery you mention's item description suggests it was developed by a sorcerer on the brink of madness. Hmm!
@@Reliken Just to add to the hmm... Big Hat Logan also invites some madness as he deteriorates to a hollow... do we know if Jeremiah in the Painted World has gone hollow too?
Everyone forgets he's also basically the Demon's Souls boss lore wise.
This video is such a hidden gem. Well researched and well constructed. Good job!
Also, the boxes in the Painted World (1:05) seem like a reference to the Iso-Cubes from Judge Dredd.
Great video, never thought about the connection between the wall huger and Jeremiah.
Great video!
Maybe, just like Jeremiah used the Xanthos set to hide his deformed appearance, Heysel wears the set and headpiece to hide that she's close to becoming a grub?
Interesting - I hadn't thought about that, but it could be! The one wrinkle here is Orbeck suggests *all* xanthous scholars wear ridiculous headwear, and presumably not all xanthous scholars are fingers of Rosaria.
A close examination of Heysel's concept art definitely does reveal some weiiiiiird stuff going on under her robes, though. If nothing else, she and Jeremiah share an interesting connection in that regard.
This is such a high quality video and your voice is perfect for this kind of explanation. You definitely have potential and if you keep doing these videos especially when the new from soft game comes out you could rival vaati.
Thank you very much! I don't want to try to redo topics others (Vaati) have already nailed, but I'd love to cover new material. Elden Ring may be a good opportunity!
I'm glad I'm not the only one intrigued by the Xanthous Scholars and King Jeremiah. It's a shame that this subject was given so little attention by the more well-known lore channels.
Superb video!
Thank you very much for the comment! The one plus is that I was able to cover a subject that I haven't seen done anywhere else - and I don't necessarily want to just retell a story that Vaati types have already told! ;)
People still comin out with compelling lore videos I love it. It’s kind of amazing after all these years
Holy shit. 297 subs??? This video was such high quality! I can guarantee if you were to make more like this I'd be here every time with a bag of popcorn.
Exactly!
Sick, planning a Xanthous themed lore invader for DS3 and this video is pretty cool to inform that. Probably just gonna be a general heysel pick mage/pyro, but still.
Love the use of Disco Elysium OST too, that Autopsy track is so unsettling to me lol
Funny enough, today’s Bible Verse is
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose Trust is the Lord. *-Jeremiah* 17:7
Just a fun coincidence that just happened today.
I suppose it does relate a little bit though. King Jeremiah was a Pyromancer. And a gifted one at that. You could say his devotion to the flame exalted him amongst his people. As Lordship in this series is practically synonymous with fire.
Finally, someone talks about the other xanthous sets
very nice lore video, you brought up a lot points that I've never really thought about, good job
Thank you very much!
TIL you can get the mimic to attack that demon in the Catacombs 😂 3+ years playing and still finding neat little things
I think the missing link is Elizabeth the Mushroom. She already told a lie about the Chosen Undead and Artorias, if the Demons were persecuted, would she lie for the sake of protecting someone else? Dire straights if Jeremiah is the dad of Dusk. Hmmm.
Also, what is the difference between her as a species and the mushrooms that have limbs and inhabit old Oolacile and Ash Lake?
Wouldn't Oolacile happen first? Perhaps Jerimiah was the king of Oolacile and founded the order before Oolacile was consumed by the abyss. Seeing this darkness corrupt his home and subjects, he vowed to never let the first flame to die out, and went to Izalith to assist in the creation of the Chaos, offering his immense knowledge of sorceries.
If Jeremiah was in Oolacile first, you'd expect he would use sorceries - the hallmark of Oolacile. But he doesn't use any, light or otherwise. That's why I don't think Oolacile is his original home.
2 notes: blindfolds are often if not only (correct me if im wrong) used by pyromancers and xanthou is wearing full face cover of cloth similar to a blindfold without eye holes.
2. ["always fear the flame or else youll ne devoured by it and loose youself, i would hate to see that happen again."] quelana might have meant her mother, but fitting to this theory, she might be refering to another student of chaos pyromancy: jeremiah.
That Hollow Knight music playing during Dark Souls clips was throwing me off, but in a weird way, it kinda fits
Glad you like it - and that I decided to use it!
Excellent video on a figure that I found very interesting in DS lore! Congratulations!
I agree with pretty much everything you said. I also think that the theory about Jeremiah being infected by a parasite on his head is further hinted by Jeremiah's resemblance to the Old Monk of Demon's Souls, whose collar subjucates its vessel according to the Golden Robe description. There is also the Xanthous Crown in DS2 which was worn by the Xanthous King and could have had some purpose, according to the description. And I think the purpose could be hiding the parasite indeed.
Another thing that may be intersting: a phantom wearing the Xanthous Set appears in the Dark Chasm of Old in DS2. He uses the pyromancy Forbidden Sun, "developped in Aldian Rites". There is a single white tree in DS2 if I remember correctly, which is found in the small lake before the King's Door leading to Aldia's Keep. Also I'm not sure how reliable it is, the DS2 guide book names the Xanthous Guy in the Dark Chasm "Pretender to the Xanthous Crown", and reads "A traveler of the Dark Chasm of Old, this Dark Spirit casts an unmistakable shadow and attacks with an array of deadly Pyromancy. But could it really be…?".
Once again, solid work.
Ahhh, you know, I decided to not touch on the DS2 set at all, but I think you hit the one bit of relevance it has to this theory here. Thanks for pointing that out.
Is the white tree in DS2 similar to the white birch trees of DS3 (which have ties to Oolacile)? If so, that's pretty interesting...
Yes, I forgot to mention Oolacile but that was the reason why I brought the White Tree up. I think it's possible that this NPC (which imo could be Jeremiah, if we trust the guidebook) could have worked together with Aldia at some points.
What do you think about crown of Xanthous King being exchanged to FAP ring ? the one which can be obtained by fighting with Lautrec of Carim (who is also golden) and linked to Fina, goddess of love.
Another fun fact is Xanthous King is highly resistible to occult dmg which suggests he was part of plot against the gods (which would also explain why we meet him in the painting).
This is also discussed in Hawkshaw's video and I think they make a really compelling case for a Jeremiah/Fina connection. I think it's possible for these facts to all reconcile with each other: perhaps Jeremiah is a lover to the witch, has an affair with Fina, Chaos goes out of control, people become demons, and Jeremiah eventually chooses to leave and winds up in Oolacile.
It's possible he is exiled form Izalith, which Hawkshaw argues, but the reason I prefer the idea of him being exiled from Oolacile is because that then creates a possible justification for why there are no apparent connections between Jeremiah and Oolacile - they were erased! If he was banished from Izalith and ended up choosing to leave Oolacile of his own accord, you'd expect he have more obvious connections.
I did not know about the occult damage resistance! That is fascinating.
King Jeremiah has a parasitic infection on his head that he wraps and the scholars probably have a parasitic mushroom that they wrap
phenomenal video mate, brilliant work and very interesting!
great video man, i’d never put much thought into the xanthous headgear except thinking it was mildly funny lol. it’s amazing how deep and interconnected the world of dark souls is when you put the effort into finding it👍🏻👍🏻subbed
Please make more DS lore vids, this is a real gem
I would love to! Though I feel like a lot of the subjects I'm interested in have already been covered pretty thoroughly. What would you like to see my tackle?
There's untranslated lore that in Japanese heavily leans towards Jeremiah being the King of Izalith yeah. Loki.... Or lokee? Lol, I don't know how his name was spelled, but he found a bunch of references in the original Japanese to Izalith in regards to Jeremiah.
I kind of feel bad for the guy though. You're the King of the second most powerful civilization after Gwyn's own Anor Londo, but your wife is both a Goddess and the Mother of an entire race. Dude was just a trophy husband. Lmao!
There's some more translations that hint at his exile being a result of his wife just not needing him anymore. All he was was a potential challenge to her authority, however small.
Maybe the chaos flame came from some iteration of oolacile magic. Izalith staff has the description that says it's sorceries predate pyromancies in izalith.
I feel thankful for this channel being recommended to me
most underrated bloke on the site
My fav dark souls character. So mysterious and yet not many people who are ‘lore fans’ actually take about this guy. It’s a shame :/
DS Lore. That's my jam.
Oh, makes sense why we'd have a princess there considering oolacile was not a kingdom.
You got me only by telling Jeremiah's story, after that you got my subscription
Maybe jeremiah was the king of oolacile(that's why the name yellow king) and father to dusk. Since city of oolacile was loyal to the gods, he was summoned by gywn to help the witch of izalith recreate the first flame (they may have required light soceries of oolacile for recreation process). He was either a proficient pyromancer before he went to izalith or learned pyromany during his time in izalith. Also, during his time in izalith he may have had a child (with the witch of izalith) or maybe he came to izalith with his child (prince izalith). We know how the flame recreation process went. Since jeremiah didn't fully transformed into a demon he fled to anor londo to inform about their failure and the consequences it bore. Realizing that he may also one day transform into a demon, gwyn exiled him into the painted world where he died(or just planted his armour on someone else and fled the painting).
Srry for any mistake in my english :)
Great video! I’m also heavily interested in the lore behind Xanthous scholars. Im trying to work on a xanthous scholar build for Ds3 that utilizes some of the golden sorceries, though it is quite tricky.
too bad the golden sorceries are mainly misc spells rather than offensive spells
the interesting one has to be the light source but you never get to use it in the game
9:25
Slaver has 2 meanings; may tease at the fact Jeremiah was a slaver (hence the whip).
Really interesting! Thanks for pointing this out!
@@Reliken You're welcome. They really like wordplay in these games.
Xanthous King may also be a reference to a slave called Xanthias that appears in some of Aristophanes' plays
(The Demon of Song (skullfrog from DS2) is a reference to Aristophanes' play, The Frogs.)
Xanthias is also a genus of burrowing crab like those found in the swamp and the painting.
We ever gonna get more lore? So well done.
I'm planning to make videos in this vein for Elden Ring!
The Yellow King Hastur & Carcosa literally feature in Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos, & this is almost certainly where Miyazaki would’ve known them from. Or maybe he could see the future & watched True Detective season 1 before it released. 🤔
I just need to know how/why the Xanthous Crown was smashed like a cartoon character hit with a mallet in DS3
My conclusion to your explanation went the other way. That he was originally from Oolacile but kind of an outcast, a different thinker. His curiosity lead him to be part of the unearthing of Manus( after Kaath had wispered in Xanthous and other ears), a deed that made Oolacile exile him. Once he was exiled, he remember Kaath´s words about Izalith and the new, different types of magic that could be discovered there.
come ds3, of Oolacile only memories remain, passed down through people that had contact with elizabeth. But those memories became fuzzy with time and when the xanthous order was created they misunderstood Xanthous curiosity as a good thing.
I put something similar in another comment, but the reason I don't think he was from Oolacile originally is because his character has no connections to it. He doesn't cast any sorceries, let alone light sorceries, which you'd think would be part of his repertoire if he started in Oolacile and went to Izalith later. Though, I guess if he was an "outsider" even in Oolacile, and maybe he practice pyromancy instead of sorcery, this could explain that fact (and also provide a reason for his ultimate exile).
If he did go to Izalith later though, I don't think he was seeking lost flame sorceries - nothing about Jeremiah suggests an interest in magic beyond pyromancy, and the xanthous scholars aren't interested in just any-old lost magic but, instead, only Oolacile's lost magic.
Either way, I think there's some merit to this. Where Jeremiah starts/ends up is, I think, the fuzziest part of this whole thing.
@@Reliken My idea is precisely that he was diferent from the other people from oolacile. they were peacefull, he more of a fighert. after his exile he would have learned pyromancy( just another for of magic, if you will, one that suited him more) and just left behinnd the weakeling light magic of his homeland, one that was also becoming increasingly less relevant as the world once again prepared for war- demons VS Gods.
Great video! Do Patches, Ornstein, Solaire and Alfred from Bloodborne next!
Hmmmmmm! I love those characters, but I feel like they've already been covered pretty effectively by other folks. Do you have any thoughts about aspects of their characters you haven't seen explored before?
Couldn’t pay any attention with the dark souls theme music in the background I was super distracted
These are really fuckin good.
Great video man!
Thank you!
Well thought, mate.
It's suddenly struck me that there's seemingly a gap in the leadership structure of dark souls' settings, or at least a lack of knowledge thereof. We hear much of named members royal families, the big higher ups, but duke seathe and pontiff sulyvanh are about as granular as we get. But who would have governed oolacile if not for the princess A monarch of oolacile? The monarch if lordran? Or a mayor or religious figure? Same goes for places like the undead townships in the early parts of ds1 and 3 (though I imagine they weren't called "undead ____" back when their leadership was still around). If I'm wrong an explanation would be really appreciated, it could be that that information is known and I just haven't seen it yet, I wouldn't be surprised
This is entirely irrelevant but I heard that disco Elysium music and my brain just clicked
I hope it clicked in a good way!
The Golden Scroll seems to disprove this but isn't chaos not too far away from Farron Keep. As time shifts I thought Chaos was now relatively underneath Farron Keep/Oolacile, maybe the light they study is from chaos after all?
I was a lvl 114 battle muge
But magic was unusually tainted
So I didnt use it
Xanthaous means yellow.
Jerimah wears that crown to cover a growth, and he uses chaos fire whip. He is most likely associated with the witch of Izalith. Any lore after that, has been added and over the course of time, I doubt it really brings back in to the original lore.
It's easy to actually look back into mostly unfinished characters and works from original settings and writings and change their original unrevealed purpose to fit some new lore and descriptions, a lot of writers do it all the time. Plus there's also the 'death of the author' bit where whatever the original intention or goal doesn't matter, it's the interpretation that matters.
@@aickavon shit, I thought I deleted that post...
The painted world is the lost city of carcosa. Along the shore the cloud waves break,
The twin suns sink behind* the lake,
The shadows lengthen
In Carcosa.
Strange is the night where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle through the skies
But stranger still is
Lost Carcosa.
Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in
Dim Carcosa.
Song of my soul, my voice is dead;
Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed
Shall dry and die in
Lost Carcosa.
Good video, are you going to make more Darksouls Lore? Lokey gives the best deduced theory on Xanthous being the Husand of the Witch, and that he may have had an affair with a certain goddess with a Fateful beauty.
Thanks! I'm not sure - I'm interested, but I don't want to spend time tackling subjects that have already been explored effectively by other creators. If I come up with new theories/angles or find another interesting less-explored area, I would like to make more!
And - I definitely think there's a good argument to be made about Jeremiah's having a relationship with Fina! The trade with Snuggly in particular really makes this compelling.
Oh, one small thing. You say multiple times in this video that Jeremiah is the only named king, but what about the Knight King Rendal? It's not a huge deal but I thought of him when you said that
Yeah, uh, oops. Damn!
Great catch.
What if Izalith is Oolacile but in the future? Idk, just throwing another theory out there.
How does he wrap his head?
Think about it.
Make more Dark Souls lore content!
What if
Jeremiah was a bullfrog
ribbit
Good Work, Plausible, for sure.
Love the hollow knight soundtrack 👌🏻😂
If you’re still around consider making some videos about Elden Ring! You’ve got better presentation than half the other guys and interesting ideas, easy views with a good thumbnail/title!
Thanks! I am still around, nearing an end to my first playthrough! I haven't processed enough of the lore yet to have a cogent story to share, but I think I'm going to try to make a video about the Raya Lucaria Academy!
Woah woah woah how do you have the full half circle stone knight helm?
:) Good eye! It's actually the Stone Guardian helmet from the enemies in Royal Wood
Looks like Roger the alien XD
He isn't part of the lore. He was going to be, but they ran out of time/scrapped him and threw him into the painted world because that's where cut content belongs.
Great!
Qualana can't use chaos pyromancy
epic video
Just pretend dark souls 2 doesn't exist 😭
What if Oolacile sorcery was started as an extension of Izalith, through the Xanthus King? No magics seem to exist before the First Flame and souls hit the scene, the evolution of pyromancies beyond fire manipulation prove pyromancy's methods could do all kinds of things, and from there it isn't too far a leap to draw on the soul of oneself instead of a pyromancy flame. Calling the Witch of Izalith's original craft "flame sorcery" fits this hybrid idea--sorcery with a flame's soul that might augment one's own, bringing the risk of one's soul being consumed.* Even making the color of Oolacile sorceries yellow instead of red or blue could be a hint of a merging of ways; or a third path, next to blue sorceries from oneself and red flame sorceries/pyromancies from some other power gripped in the hand.
*iirc Hawkshaw may discuss stuff near this idea in the Demons video, specifically around the making of the Chaos Flame.
Bigger hat scholars
Are you a Xanthous Scholar?
Anyone who complains about DS2 lore but not DS3 lore is a fraud. DS3 is just all retcons
Bruh, Xanthous means yellow. That's all that is.
These are 2 completly different subjects. This is why I hate the sequels...
Yellow could also mean cowardly.
The scholar hats from ds3 are not shaped in reference to Jeremiah, they are shaped like the Elizabeth mushroom... Come on dude.
...
7:07 "The Xanthous Crown no longer resembles the Prince of Izalith, but rather Elizabeth, the mushroom guardian of Oolacile."
🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
People still comin out with compelling lore videos I love it. It’s kind of amazing after all these years
People still comin out with compelling lore videos I love it. It’s kind of amazing after all these years
People still comin out with compelling lore videos I love it. It’s kind of amazing after all these years