Hearing about Velstadt carrying the king to his tomb is actually rather sad. His most loyal of knights see's his king basically die before him and he carries his husk of a body and gently lays him to rest, then guards him for the rest of his days. Something about that small subtle story really speaks volumes to me. Velstadt must have felt terrible to see the person he dedicated his life to, turn into the very thing he tried so hard to reject.
@Petr Říha yeah dude, thats besides the point of you having the immature need to feel superior by invalidating other people's affinity for a story or narrative, no one is forcing you to watch this u know lol
"my king, how do you know that the chosen undead will be able to defeat the queen?" "I have placed in its way obsticles that will grant it a supreme power." "what power?" "the power to... STRAFE LEFT!"
"Ok Velstadt, I'm gonna leave my soul here behind this door, and you gotta carry my hollow body to the tomb. You tracking?" "Yes, your highness. I'm *_always_* tracking."
i suppose Nashandra kinda forgot that since the chosen undead is, well, undead, they are quite literally unstoppable. unless she killed them so many times over that they went hollow and gave up. but then again that would only happen if... the player gave up... woah...
if the player gives up, he will simply become another wandering undead, giving up on his want, another undead in time will come, slay him and claim his soul for the same purpose.
This is one of the best things that Vaati has brought up in a previous video, I'll just elbaorate a bit: It is known that undead can prevent themselves from going hollow by keeping themselves motivated for going on, which becomes harder, and harder to do as they die again, and again. It may seem like the chosen undead is immune to this process, because they can keep dying, and the player can just keep on playing. However I believe it is not...because the chosen undead's willpower does not come from the character...it comes from YOU, the player character who is driving him forward. As long as you think the boss, or area that you're stuck at is beatable, and not impossible, the player will keep on going, and trying, because their motivation has not yet dwindled. However, the moment that the player calls OP on the boss, and rage quits to go do something else with his life...that's when the "undead" stops trying, and when he has truly gone hollow, because the driving force (The player) who mas making him go forward is no longer there because they've given up. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This I feel is reflected even more amazingly by the "loss of max HP" mechanic in Dark Souls 2 because it reflects how as an undead dies over, and over again it becomes harder to hold on to their sanity, and not go hollow. The real life version for this is that you get less, and less HP each time making it easier for you to rage quit, and take a break from the game.
i think i said this under another of vaati's vidya's (damn i'm punny), but the process of hollowing dark souls and the gradual hollowing in dark souls 2 is only eyecandy, the true hollowing is the gameplay, you get frustrated a lot and are driven to your limits, either giving up completely on the game or overcoming your limits and acquiring victory, removing the curse of the undead of yourself (finally leaving your room again) until a new souls game comes out xDDD
One detail that I see glossed over, or at least not directly pointed out, is that Vendrick was immortal. He started a war with the giants that lasted multiple generations, and he had a hand in creating the "Ancient" Dragon. He is also said to have defeated the four great kings, the sunken, iron, and ivory kings. We can only assume the fourth was the king of Olaphis, since that's what Straid says Drangleic used to be called. And when we gather the four crowns, we become immune to hollowing, but remain undead. Essentially, immortal. This is what Vendrick achieved himself, yet he chose to give that up. Rather than slay Nashandra himself, he left behind everything he had gained for us to inherit. After all he went through to avoid going hollow, he chose that fate freely. Is this what it means to cast off the shackles of fate? To exist outside the cycle of light and dark. Is this the same fate we resign ourselves to after we defeat Aldia and reject the throne?
Don't really have answers to all your questions, but just wanted to correct some things. Multiple generations doesn't imply an inhuman amount of time, 3 generations could take place in under 60 years, and vendrick is certainly not a young man. He did not have any hand in creating an ancient dragon, he 'revived' one, it's ancient because dragons existed before even the first flame, long before vendrick. I've not played the DLC so I have no information about the deal with the crowns so I can't say anything about that, but I just wanted to share what I knew.
Listen to Wellager's dialogue. He says Vendrick has watched over this land since ages long long ago. Somehow I don't think that's limited to a single Human lifetime.
BDeerhead Is Wellager the ghost in the castle? If that's him, you could rationalize that his mind has certainly gone sour, but beyond that I don't really have an argument for that. The idea of him being immortal is certainly interesting, but the fact that he ends up hollowed out does in fact mean he's human, so if he is indeed immortal, I'm not sure if that really has any bearing on anything, at least in the present or future. If he is indeed immortal, and acquired this through the crowns (again I haven't played the DLC so I don't have much info on that) then his influence in the past is also quite limited, as I'm going to assume he acquired these crowns after the undead curse showed up in his land.
This is one of those things that I'm not terribly clear on, but there are certain things that suggest that Vendrick was already undead when he started building Drangleic, just like you are. The only thing that doesn't really square with that is when Nashandra talks about how 'when the undead arose'. As for why he cast it all away and chose to go hollow, I think he knew that to sit on the throne, he would have to kill Nashandra, and he couldn't bring himself to do that.
AzureLotusGames > the fact that he ends up hollowed out does in fact mean he's human. Not if you consider he freely separated himself from his soul. The curse touches everything (even the skeleton lords) so a Lord is certainly not free from the curse but simply more difficult to hollow as they have lord souls. Vendrick knowingly locked his soul away from Nashandra thus choosing to become hollow. Also, he's big sized and not furtive pygmy descendant sized.
The reason I like DS2 more than the others is because they did a fantastic job of allowing it to logically exist between the other two, as one cycle among countless bookended by the first and last in DS1 and 3. I'll never understand why they threw out so much advancement in the lore when they came to DS3. Imagine how amazing it would have been to encounter Aldia and/or the Bearer of the Curse with their unhollowing power, and what that would have meant for the whole series lore.
I love that you explained why Nashandra was so easy at the very end. Lots of people don't get that she was physically unable (due to all the barriers in her way) to gain the necessary power to beat you. You essentially become her final boss as she enters through the fog gate and tries to steal the thrown away.
@@TheOsirin Actually, undeads appears when the fire is fading, so if u link the flame, all undead should become human until the fire starts to fade again. This technically means that Vendrick will no longer be hollow after u link the flame. I think this is exactly what he planned.
@@davidamajako961 I went through a lot of Dark Souls lore and this is for sure a fact. When u link the first flame, for a short period of time, world of Dark Souls is without undeads and hollows. They won't just dissapear so they have to become humans again. Weaker the fire is, more undeads and hollows appaear, which is also a fact. It also makes sence, because FADING of a first flame makes the age of dark appear, the weaker flame is, the stronger is the dark. If u just relit the fire, the dark is completely suppresed. There's more to it but i would be here forever :D
lmaooo same, but it's really on me as I always forget to read the boss souls and other items... you can put so much pieces of lore together through them
Lemme get this straight. dark souls one was the first cycle, since it had all the great souls in their pure forms (Gwynn, witch of izaleth etc), and in between one and two, a bunch of kingdoms rose and fell (olaphis) because of the cycle, and in this time, nashandra was gaining strength after splitting off from manus after he was defeated. On the dark souls 2 cycle then, nashandra interrupts the cycle in order to get the power she craves. Vendrick realised this, breaks the cycle by stopping her with roadblocks like the shrine of Amana and the giants kinship. Therefore nashandra tricks you into opening the throne of want for her, and betrays you, only for you to win. Then you have a choice of embracing the throne or not, but regardless, the cycle continues. Right?
Yes only the Ashen one ever truly finds a way to subvert the cycle. (Usurping the fire.) Basically by stealing the fire and not allowing it to fade you have essentially halted the cycle things don't get better but can't get worse. Or another way by getting the Dark Soul from Gael the Painter girl is able to make a new perfect world without the flaws of the prior worlds thanks to her using the Dark Soul
The cycle continues regardless, it was merely delayed by Vendrick to make sure Nashandra couldn't obtain that power. The fact of the matter is that because of Gwyn the world is now stuck in an eternal loop, the fire fades, an undead with either reignite it or let it fade, the flame is reignited and will eventually fade once more or if the flame fades entirely embers will remain and one day these embers will eventually catch light and begin a new age of fire after an age of dark. This is why Aldia giving us a new choice is so important because before that our choice didn't REALLY matter as the cycle continued. Aldia gave us the choice to simply walk away, not choosing to reignite the flame or to smother it and we would let the world persist in this age of twilight between fire and dark. Maybe one day a new undead would find their way to the throne and become the true monarch, but that undead won't be us. We have the crown we can hold the curse at bay with it and wander etenally in the age of twilight
"The queen brought peace to this land and to her king" "A peace so deep it was like...the dark" "Is this some sort of a dream?" I get so many goosebumps every single time I hear to lines
OHHH...So THAT'S why Nashandra was so weak. Vendrick was training us by making the game so incredibly hard.And here I thought it was just bad boss design.
***** Gwyn was a good and tough as balls fight. I don't appreciate how he can swing a greatsword with the speed of a straight sword or why his fire buff never wears off though. *sigh* I hate it when enemies don't obey the same rules as you do. Almost as bad as Gwyndolin being able to fire multiple spells and arrows at once. This is why occult weapons exist, to punish these cheaters.
Easy to parry? I could never get it to work. Probably because I 2h my weapons all day erry day so I'm not used to parrying. I 2h unless the moveset is garbage (looking at you, Butcher's Knife. If you're gonna have downward smash with a long wind up, at least pancake with it. I gave up a running attack for this?)
this story reminded me very much of beowulf. beowulf went to a faraway land to find and kill a terrible monster that was plaguing the king and his lands. what he didn't realize was that the current king had done the same thing once, and killed a different monster, only to sleep with the monster's mother to create the monster that eventually plagued his kingdom. then beowulf repeated the same chain of events by killing the new monster and sleeping with its mother. and once beowulf died, it was strongly suggested that his "second in command" would do the same thing as well. just reminds me of dark souls and how no matter what there will rise another king who will inevitably complete the same tasks as the last king, only to be replaced by another one in the future.
that was the movie beowulf. in the original beowulf kills graendal and his mother (while holding his breath for a few days because she lives underwater) then a dragon happens along (not beowulf's son, just some random dragon) and beowulf dies fighting it. personally i liked the movie better. the original, although a classic, was extremely boring just because of how much of a mary sue beowulf is.
I very much agree with you (>^^)> the rebirth of kings and all. Haha makes me giggle to think demon's may in some wacky way still be tied in. I mean, we never did get to see the land of the giants hehe :p
Vaati, I doubt you will see this, but I just wanted to say the biggest thank you for all your unbelievably hard work on this channel. Your love for these games, and your tireless work has helped me go from passively interested in the series, to devouring all of your content and constantly being amazed at the depth of the storytelling. Your connection with Angel's Egg was fascinating, I am sure I would never have heard of this movie, and it's absolutely incredible. Again thank you for all you do!
Discovering how the story of the universe of Dark Souls is the repition of the cycles of Kindling and Darkness, it makes me feel that the Misery of the universe is even stronger than before. The Misery was strong already in DkS1 because NPCs strived to found a goal and to achieve it, albeit in vain. But discovering those cycles just destroy the meaning of every goal : you will built a kingdom but, in the end, it will crumble. You are fighting for others but, in the end, they will become Hollows. Dark Souls 2 makes the entire universe even more dark and sad because it gives a kind of nihilist feeling to the goals of every undead : at the end, nothing mattered, everything will crumble, will rise anew to crumble again. God I fucking love this games.
Isn't the Emerald Herald proof the cycle can be broken? Born of dragon, conceived by human (or should I say hollow as that's the natural state). She doesn't seem to be affected by the curse, or the cycle. Vendrick and Aldia did what no past cycle pawn had done before: the two tried to break the cycle, and in my speculation, they succeeded.
Requiemrex Im not sure it is a never ending cycle. The abyss seems to be outside of that cycle and in some way even threatening it. I really hope someone can bring some light in to the dark parts of ds2 lore ;).
Wow. I took Vendrick as a fool and a coward, but now... Now he seems merely a desperate rebel, who tried to give the next fated ruler what he was denied. A chance to link the fire. I no longer think he denied the first flame but rather, sacrificed himself to keep the last fleeting ember of it safe, so that when it came time to reignite it, it could burn in peace. This reminds me of Ingward, one of the four sealers of New Londo. A large quantity of people sacrificed, and four sentries placed to keep The Dark from destroying a weakened world. The Looking Glass Knight, Velstadt, The Ancient Dragon, and the two who protect the throne itself, along with the Milfanito, and the Fenito. As for Aldia, I took him as something of a mad scientist, and a heretic. A man who wanted answers no matter the cost. Now, I see him in new light as well. Still a mad scientist, but his heresy, and his crimes against nature and life itself, were necessary for nature and life to persist. Pragmatic, much like his brother.
He's still a coward. Rather than confront Nashandra, he set up barricades so she couldn't easily reach the Throne, and then ran away in fear of her. He wanted someone else to do what he was too weak and/or afraid to do.
Woops. Had an unfinished thought in there. I meant to compare the four sealers to the Looking Glass Knight, Velstadt, and the others, but it seems my excitement got the better of me, and I skipped a step.
***** Disagree, he understood the cycle and realized that it was only a matter of time before he would succumb to some form of death. He couldnt stop her by confronted her as her soul would have been disbursed once he was killed(died). So he trapped her instead, until someone strong enough came to stop her.
When we play DS3 there are still 3 Giants the giant lord ( last giant ) And the two in the gutter meaning the last giant remembers us from crippling him before we actually fought him ?
dark souls 3 is before dark souls 2 and dark souls 1 is before them it is the first and first first was demons souls when u play ringed city u can clearly see that u ended all 3 games that all turned o dust and nothing until a new flame would be born but it wont happen because a painting of blood and dark soul was born a new Ariendal Painting of a deep ocean ... thats Bloodborne wich also was a dyng world in the end it all gets corrupted and dies it just needs a new painter
No, dark souls2 is before dark souls 3 because of the fact that we could see the dead body of gilligan in dark souls 3. Here from wiki: "Gilligan makes a cameo in Dark Souls III as a corpse that teaches the "Stretch-out" gesture to the player, near the Profaned Capital bonfire."
Dark Souls : There's always a king There's always an undead There're always 4 powerful souls. Bioshock : There's always a man There's always a lighthouse There's always a city. Will the circle be unbroken ?
Those are two completely different themes. One is alternate universes where your choices affect what happens somewhere else and one is an endless cycle where your choices don't really matter because it's going to end the same way anyway. You can't really compare the 2. And the concept of alternate universes was only presented in bioshock infinite anyway. (kinda in the beginning of 1 too but nobody knew that)
+Thaibiohazard123 yeah except infinite's was really poorly handled and doesn't really make that much sense in the scheme of it. not to mention the game itself was kinda meh at best.
Jesus vaati toward the end I had a tear in my eye. really powerful n fucking awesome work bro, makes so much sense now you are simply THE BEST at this. great work
I do not believe that the First Flame is an object which is somewhere. I believe that the First Flame is a concept, and that there have been been many First Flames. Basically, it's what happens whenever a Chosen Undead with a godlike soul chooses to link the fire and start a new cycle, sacrificing themselves to birth the flames. The First Flame is literally the first flame in any single cycle. For instance, the Far Fire of Majula is actually what remains of the First Flame from Dark Souls 1. You find the shattered pieces of the Lordvessel in the basement of the mansion, the ruins in the area look quite familiar, and the undead are inexplicably drawn to the place. It's furthermore quite possible that each of the primal bonfires represent another First Flame, each the beginning and end of different cycles. Something very very interesting to note is that Sublime Bone Dust is found very close to every primal bonfire, and also to Majula (with the exception of the one near Freja). Perhaps each Sublime Bone Dust is actually the remains of a Chosen Undead from some distant cycle who started a new cycle by creating a First Flame in the nearby primal bonfires? Perhaps the four great souls of each cycle are inexplicably drawn to places where the fire has been linked, which is why we find them so close by? I believe that King Vendrick peered into the essence of the soul and discovered the truth behind the eternal cycles, and that a new age will not begin until a Chosen Undead sacrifices himself to create a first flame. He likely also discovered that for an Undead to be powerful enough to link the fire, he must possess the four great souls of the previous cycle - like Vendrick himself did. That is why the he had the Throne of Want constructed, which is actually a kiln designed for a Chosen Undead to birth a First Flame and end the curse, however temporarily, by beginning a new cycle. But a First Flame is absurdly powerful, because it will by definition always contain the four great souls of a previous cycle, or at least strength of a comparable level. Vendrick feared that if he linked the fire himself, Nashandra would sweep in and claim the infant First Flame and the four great souls of the new age for herself, dooming the next cycle to being one of darkness. So he set a plan in motion which would ensure that the next Chosen Undead would be powerful enough to face Nashandra before becoming the First Flame. And that is you, the player.
The Soul series are the definition of story-telling in video-games and why games shouldn't be trying to be movies. Because movies or books CAN'T make story telling like these games do and i really appreciate this series for this.
They can; the technique is called distant mountains, though the method is simple insinuation. Imply as opposed be explicit. More specifically, distant mountains refers to mentioning of events occuring or having occured outside the current plot. Sound familiar? I know I'm in the wrong place to hold this opinion, but games aren't as special as most people try to make them. Games use most of the same elements, but have different rules as to their application, like how cinematography has rules as to how and when to cut, in games, you should generally speaking never do it at all, forcing developers to build the sets around the camera instead of placing the camera around the set. Books and movies can, but shouldn't do what these games do. Part of the engagement lies in the interaction, with little else happening on the other (sensory and narrative) layers - removing interaction and keeping the other layers the same wouldn't make any sense
The way this video explains why there are so many armored bosses is so good and that almost every armored/humanoid boss had a task to do against the undead plus the fact that The dragon riders are weak bosses because they were trained with a "dragon" near thier side to fight with this made ds2 the best for me i love this story.
Has anyone considered that this cycle is actually fairly realistic? If you take the souls out and skip the fire symbolism it boils down to nations rise and fall and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it. Rome collapsed, the French were bested, China collapsed several times, etc. always a nation, always a leader, time destroys them all. Also this whole cycle thing reminds me of bioshock infinite and a little of mass effect but that's off topic.
Then we know what's going to happen to the U.S.. America is in a time of a golden age but every great flame must die out and rekindle, just as Dark Souls have said a lot of times before. America will have a time where our our nation will collapse and we will have to restart just like other great nations
More then just civilisations rising and falling, there are theories that the cosmos itself is on a constant loop of death and rebirth, of light and dark. The fact is life is impossible without death and light without dark.
+risker34 well, absolute dark doesn't exist either. When something is absolute, it becomes undefined. Darkness doesn't need light to exist, but to BE darkness
I beat Dark Souls 1 and 3 first. Currently I'm playing Dark Souls 2. While progressing the game I became more interested in Dark Souls 2's story than other souls games. It has a different feeling.
Btw, for those of you who felt guilty in killing King Vendrick, you can always look at it as a way of putting his body to rest; afterwards, you may obtain his soul so that he may aid you in killing Nashandra.
It is truly a brilliant design, when we are able to try to understand each character's backstory and aspirations... even on a character that never even gets one line of speech. Killing Vendrick is also one of the closest things to fighting the hollowed forms of the allies you make in Dark Souls (story-wise), only you never were able to meet him first.
Richard Mcilwain I once killed Vendrick ridiculously early to make the Ruler's Sword and kill Nashandra with it. It just felt so...right. Vendrick, now in the form of his blade (that smashed my ass a few times) could now finally fight the queen he loved but lacked the heart to kill, in the hands of the one who he gambled everything on succeeding.
Gameplay is a little floaty, not the best, but we're always comparing it to other souls games, ds2 is better than the average game out there, and the story, lore, characters, voice acting might be second to none in the series
Ds2 probably had the best story. It was more coherent and poses more questions directly regarding the story and you were more likely to understand what you’re doing bc the game does a good job explaining it to you that you’re cursed and you’ve lost everything and you’re trying to get it back. The opening cutscene shows this and the game tells you a lot and demonstrates it in the games areas
Suddenly the super easy Nashandra fight makes total sense! Vendrick wanted Nashandra to be met with resistance all the way to the end. The trials that the Chosen Undead faced prepared her to easily overcome Nashandra's power.
If you look closely at the cutscene at the start of the lost sinner, the bug in her eye is a smaller version of the one in the middle of the bed of chaos in DS1
Vendrick starts a war with giants. I mean, despite the fact that he's at least twelve feet tall, and taller than a few of the giants that we have to fight. Could you imagine an audience with him? You'd have a seriously sore neck by the end of it.
I'll be completely honest, I was probably wrong with measurements, as I usually don't use feet, being a Metric person. However, when you fight vendrick, you are roughly at eye level with his knee. i.ytimg.com/vi/uDnhDqyQ2Zk/maxresdefault.jpg i60.tinypic.com/260ad6x.jpg So, even though twelve feet may be an exaggeration, he is still on par with the regular giants you fight.
Anaithnid001 That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that he's not inhumanly tall. Videogame bosses, especially in Dark Souls (and also in WoW) are enlarged to make predicting their next move easier, and to increase the epicness of the fight. So vendrick isn't that tall.
You've seen his throne, right? From a lore perspective, he isn't wholly human. He is joined with the Great Soul. Just like the beings of Dark Souls (Gwyn and his companions), they are all from an age of legends, and heroes in legends are always larger than life.
Anaithnid001 Yeah, of course. However, Dark Souls 2 and the B Team failed with the concept of larger people for better gameplay, as in Dark Souls 1 all furniture etc was human sized, while the inhabitants of it were rather large. And although Vendrick was joined with the great soul, the throne doesn't support the actual size argument, as Dark Souls 2 made all furniture fit to scale with the ingame sizes, not lore sizes. w/e :D
I've always believed that Drangleic was in the minds of those who went hollow. My theory is that with the mind separated from the self, it attempts to recover. It forms a false, dream-like reality that mirrors what they know. With all these minds attempting to reclaim the reality they experienced, they ultimately form this collective unconsciousness that takes shape as Drangleic. That would explain the almost dream like layout of the world and the many parallels to Lordran (though admittedly you could also say it's because the designers weren't as dedicated to a connected feeling world as the 1st game). I think even the opening cutscene shows this with it's very surreal imagery. The character's mind is clearly slipping so the events may not be as literal as they're presented. Just my thoughts though.
One theory is that The King's Ring is crafted from The Lordvessel - and works to unlock those doors in a similar fashion to DS1. Perhaps the ring was crafted in the Majula Mansion's basement where you find The Lordvessel remains? If so, what significance could this have and could it mean Cale played a bigger part of the story than a simple cartographer?
Yes, On the death of the father of the abyss his soul splintered in fragments and became these fragile female entities. These fragile but powerful entities all have 1 thing in common apart from their personality. They search for powerful men. Its seen in the dlc's where they too were married to the kings.
@@davidamajako961 I also find it intriguing that the women and Nashandra took in the form of Princess Dusk which makes it more epic and sad that Manus essentially kidnapped Dusk to steal her essence and when the Chosen Undead finally killed Manus, the fragments were born out of Dusk's image.
Just had a funny series of observations: Hypothetically, let's pretend the Kiln and its ashy arena are the same place Gwyn was fought in DS1. The kiln is far below New Londo, accessible from the Abyss and Firelink, which is above New Londo. While descending into the Throne of Want, a black abyss lies below, but what else is sandwiched, albeit kind of nonsensically, between Drangleic Castle and the kiln? Well, Shrine of Amana, a place that bears a strong resemblance to Firelink. Below that? A crypt submerged in the waters that have almost consumed the shrine. This crypt is a place where no light should be presented, according to Agdayne. New Londo housed the Dark Wraiths and Kaathe and the Abyss. The next logical place to look at is the Undead Parish, built where Drangleic Castle now stands, and here is where I'm surely reading too far into it, but hey, speculation is fun! Traveling away from the Parish, towards Sen's Fortress, there is a dense forest (Shaded Woods), and past that a little ways is Anor Londo, almost precisely where we would expect to find Anor Londo is Heide's Tower of Flame, submerged. Whooooooa.
I really like how Nashandra has 2 cutscenes before her fight, depending on your actions. If you receive the Giant's Kinship before fighting the Throne Keeper and Defender, she comes through the fog gate. However, if you kill the Defender and Watcher before getting the Giant's Kinship, nothing happens, and you have no choice but to leave and come back once you've obtained it, and when you do...she's standing inside waiting for you. Same speech, just instead of her walking through the gate, she stands there looking at the throne as she speaks before turning to face you.
VaatiVidya A mistake I noticed in this video: You accidentally said that Vendrick was responsible for the exile and imprisonment of the undead, but that was actually the Old Iron King who was responsible for those things, not Vendrick. When the curse came, he found the strength to lead his people, according to Nashandra. This means that he realized that no good would come of capturing, exiling, or killing the undead.
Wow....from watching this, I realized that skeletons are just really really old hollows and that golems are made of titanite. If you look at their heads, they've got a similar structure to the Titanite Demons from the first game. So im pretty sure Vendrick went to Lordran a.k.a. Land of the Giants. Considering that's what would be left if the gods left and there's no kingdom there to stop hollowing. And the fact that the lordvessel is shattered in Majula.
yeah look in the basement of the mansion in Majula, and in the room where the skeletons are, in the corner, are shards of the lordvessel. I saw a video comparing the shards to the Lordvessel in Dks1. Exact match.
He chose to not do anything. He knew the fire would be lit the fire will always be lit eventually. He simply gave up before hand. This is why he hid his soul from the queen he didn’t want her ushering in the age of dark he left it up to the chosen undead in a sense to make the decision. Or he gave up hoping the seeker of fire would find a 3rd option. He didn’t necessarily want the fire to fade he was disgusted by his Queen you can tell by his actions. He was just stuck in stasis. Really sad.
Funny thing is, after killing Velstadt, and of course knowing who he was in terms of reference to Demon Souls, I was like, there must be a reason why he was protecting the king, I mean, the dude was loyal to the end in Demon Souls too, in a manner of speaking :P
Devon Womack Both Velstadt and the Blocking Bass Knight were pretty cruel and evil beings. Velstadt for example had his brother in arms, Raime , exiled because he wanted to be the closest one to the King. And the Knight was a cruel executioner.
To hopefully answer some of your questions, I think what Vendrick stole from the giants was the lord vessel with the old souls within it as well as the kiln of the first flame itself. Using their power he learned more about the soul arts and how to manipulate the soul. I also imagined he took the 4 great ones souls that were Nito, Seethe, the witch of izalith, and gwyn's and split them among his comrades. We know the Old Iron King and Vendrick were comrades iirc, though, after Vendrick conquered the Old Iron King and his realm (taking some of his army for his own, why we find the same soldiers from the old iron king to his own castle). When they talk about Vendrick subduing or mastering the 4 old ones, I think it means he mastered their great souls from the lord's vessel/kiln of the first flame, not that he actually killed them as we the player do in both DkS1 and DkS2. However, the power of the souls were too great for the people he gave it to (or the saint he gave it to died anyways and the soul lost in the bottom of the abyss) and they went mad and became corrupted and then fused with the souls and became something more and no longer in control of themselves. Thus, we have the 4 great ones we're tasked to kill. Now, the giants he stole it from, I believe, were from what was once Lordran and had made use of the lord vessel. Either they were the old gods related to Gwyn and Gwynevere and Gwyndolin and their sorts and some how twisted or changed, or perhaps they came after the fact. The reason I think Nashandra was trying to kill you for the Giant's Favor is the same reason you get it from the Giant's Lord (much as you get his soul) when you kill him. That upon killing the one who has it grants it to the killer. And, as you pointed out, you can't get to the Kiln without the Giant's favor. To go back to Vendrick stealing the kiln, I think Nashandra used him to steal it because she wasn't strong enough to beat the giants herself (being only a weaker part of Manus and such) and so she had Vendrick do the deed. She tricked him into believing the giants were planning something bad for Vendrick's people and his realm, but instead used him for her own purposes. The kiln, perhaps then, is what Vendrick used to create the golems in the first place. After all, there are many golems around the kiln that move once you approach having killed Nashandra. There are still some questions with my theory, but ya, that's what I gathered about DkS2.
It's more likely that Drangleic was built upon the land of Lordran, as ENB seems to think (and he worked on the guide book). This is evidenced by the Duke Tseldora's Archives near the crystalline structures and the birth of the Smelter Demon from the lava around Iron Keep (perhaps it sank into Lost Izalith?) Just food for thought.
Roodoe Eh, there's evidence to hint that it's Lordran, but it's not very conclusive. Especially when you take into account that there's evidence for the place being Astora and Vinheim as well. For example "The original Dark Souls' lingering dragoncrest ring description reads as follows: 'A special ring granted to only the most accomplished sorcerers at Vinheim Dragon School. The ring is engraved with a lingering dragon, and boosts the length of the effects of sorceries.' Compare that to Dark Souls 2's lingering dragoncrest ring description: 'A ring used long, long ago in a land that existed where Drangleic does now.'" Now, that doesn't prove it's Vinheim either cause we know that the accomplished sorcerers (like Big Hat Logan) moved abouts from vinheim and brought their rings with them and the DkS2 ring says it was "used" long ago. As for possible being Astora "The Elite Knight Set was a famous armor set from Astora which was said to be in the south of Lordran. Drangleic is now famous for making that set out of bradden steel. This correlates well to the relative positions and the plot of the game. It could also explain why there is a sunbro shrine in Drangleic if you follow the line of thought that Solaire of Astora is the first born son of Gwyn."
The God Emperor Chancellor Wellagor says that Vendrick VANQUISHED the 4 old ones and built this land upon their souls. Stealing and vanquishing are two very different things. Drangleic was built on the same land as Lordran just further along the cycle.
lBlackSasuke I could still see vanquishing working here. I said he stole the lord vessel from the giants and the kiln of the first flame and then he vanquished the great souls within. That is, perhaps the souls themselves no others could defeat/master, but Vendrick was the only one skilled/strong enough to.
Hey vaati is it possible that the Giant Lord is the Last Giant Boss? I mean the size would fit and the Lord is the only Giant who uses a sword so it would kinda explain why the Last Giant would rip off his arm to use it as a weapon
Really nice explanation and video! When I saw Vendrick I thought that gradually seeing the curse spreading across his body he begun losing his mind and tearing his clothes to see how much time he still had because of his fear of eventually turning hollow.
What makes Dark Souls compelling is that it’s basically a Spenglerian fantasy epic set in the twilight of a civilization. The first flame is a pretty clear analogy for the animating metaphysical principle of a civilization, for example. The whole game is just example after example of the faded glory of a once-great age. Even themes of historical cycles in it. Not sure if it’s intentional or if it simply speaks to the same truths that Oswald Spengler articulated on its own but I like it either way.
I really enjojed DS1 and 3, but I think DS2 was the best. DS1 was a great introduction to the curse and the world. DS3 was a strong conclusion. But DS2 was like a huge living story about the curse and an affected kingdom. The story and the characters were the strongest in this game for me, so I ended up enjoying it the most. Vaati does an amazing job explaining this kingdom and the story around it.
Oddly, one of the first thing I think I understood about DS2 lore when I played it was the fact that hollows are emprisoned underground because they cannot be killed. I'm convinced all those human shaped "totems" you see in Black Gulch and near the pit at Majula are hollows. There are structures to get them down the pit and stock them, "prisoners" to take care of the job, and "The Rotten embraces all, in the sanctuary for all things unwanted or tossed away.". Hollows are treated like nuclear waste!
+grfrjiglstan she is kinda weaker than a lot of the barriers put in our way especially if you take away her curse balls then she might as well be a boss found near the beginning.
This is why I love Dark Souls 2, like I can understand Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3. But Dark Souls 2 is conflicting that they tempt you to keep the world going, or end it but it's all pointless because their's only one end
What sepearated DS 2 from others is that in this specific cycle, the king realizes before his cycle is over that the cycle exists, and tries everything to defy the cycle, not like Gwyn, out of arrogance, but because he knows the workings of his world, and wants to break the rules for his kingdoms benefit. I feel like Nashandra is too weak to reach the throne without your help. I dont think she has a choice but to use the undead and then kill them. Thats probably why she tries to curse you. She wants you to hollow out as fast as possible when she fights you.
What about this: By whatever reason, the first flame (throne) was in the land of the giants, beings akin to dragons they are outside the cycle (they never die-they just become trees), and so it was inaccessible to Nashandra. She got Vendrick to invade and take the throne, but the throne had been changed by the presence of the giants and to sit upon it one would need to be "of the giants" (which is represented by the human seat in the giant seat, Gwyn was kind of giant btw), Vendrick could but then he found out Nashandra's etc.
Interestingly enough, the fallen giant is kinda around the place where we killed gwyn with respect to debris of lordvessel in the "haunted house" of majula. Like if where the shattered pieces of lord vessels are in majula, if that were the exact same place where we had kept it in DS1 then the place where we fought gwyn should be somewhere around the location of fallen giant. That kinda explains why the first throne was in the land of giants.
VaatiVidya, thank you so much for making this video and explaining the almost unexplainable. It makes so much clear to me now. The timing and the making of the video are so remarkable I was bound to listen every word you say. I enjoyed watching your video and you have a good voice to listen to.
And now my small contribution to lore analysis. The Last Giant and Giant Lord are the same being. No time paradox's come from killing the giant lord because you kill him in a MEMORY not in the PAST. There is a difference.
I find it interesting that, for the very last boss fight of the game, Nashandra must enter the mist to get to us. Almost as if we are the final boss and she is the one challenging.
So if Nashandra captured a milfanito and put her in a cage sealed by an Embedded, why is the key received after you kill the Demon of Song which is at the end of the Shrine of Amana? How did the key get there if Nashandra can't get past the calming presence of the fireflies? When, why and how was the Demon of Song created, and presumed to be allowed to sit in the Shrine of Amana- To whom did he share an alliance with?
I like to think vendrick had a milfanito trapped there to sing eternally making Nashandra docile (human form, not attacking) and the embedded was just a criminal condemned to be a keyhole, it wouldn´t be the first time Vendrick uses criminals, just think of the pursuer (criminal who seeks a pardon through undead hunting) and the shadowmen, criminals being put to good use. Although this theory can be discarded since I think nashandra comes to you even if you leave the milfanito alone in the tower.
***** That seems a bit of a leap. What makes you think the embedded took her? And why do you think it was to stop himself from doing anything to her? The Key merely says that he bound himself with chains to stop himself from enjoying the pleasures of the flesh. And even if you are correct what makes you think that the Milfenito was not captured at Nashandras behest? Chances are she could not do it herself.
Personal theory time! Nashandra didn't personally capture her, which is a duh. I think the Demon of Song was created by Nashandra to remove the Melfinito from the Shrine of Amana. They're slowly dying off, and they try to keep the Demon appeased as it says in its soul description, so its likely that Nashandra may have been using it as a slow solution to her Melfinito problem. The Embedded likely captured the one Melfinito and brought her back to the castle, likely Nashandra's first idea to remove them, but became entranced by her. Nashandra could have then realized that having multiple people kidnap Melfinito just to fall for them and likely side with them is a bad thing, and thus manipulated him into thinking this entrancement towards her is an evil lust and a danger to her. He then turns himself into the Embedded, also likely with Nashandra's help, sealing her in a cage and giving the key to the Demon of Song, who she then has go take care of the rest of the Melfinito. This is speculation and mostly guessing, as I only looked at the Key of the Embedded's item description and the Soul of the Demon of Song's. Plus my firm belief that Nashandra, being a being of the abyss and through her other actions, is manipulative above everything else and does not like to dirty her own hands if she can think of another way.
I dont think Demon of Song, because he also can sing, the same song that is threat to Nashandra, that the Melfanitos sing. And, just before the battle with Demon of Song, there is a, apparently, malformed Milfanito. We interact wth her and she just disapears. Anyone have a guess about what is she, and if she is related with Demon of Song?
Vaati (and anyone else who's interested of course), please have a look through this, I know bloodborne is out and all, but we never really nailed dark souls 2 lore as well as we did the first one, and with SotFS's new dialogue and descriptions I really think it is important that we go back to dark souls 2 lore for a bit. These are my ramblings on something really cool I thought that could solve lots of plot holes, please reply if you have any comments to make on it, I feel that there's still a lot we can dig out of dks2. The first flame put souls into the world (remember this). Vendrick became a "monarch", and thus had a powerful enough soul to link the fire (fuel the first flame), even before nashandra came, so even before the war with the giants, and so even before he brought back the "prize"; but what is this prize? The throne of want has a smaller seat carved into a bigger (giant) one, so lets assume that's the prize, but what does it do? It allows you to PUT SOULS INTO THINGS, isn't that kinda like... the first flame! (it put souls into the world). So, while a simple monarch can just fuel the first flame by frying himself, IF you have the throne, you can also CONTROL the first flame (try to think of the throne kinda like an "add-on" to the first flame, that lets you do more stuff). But how did vendrick get the throne? He went to war with the giants, and who told him about the giants? Nashandra! So if we assume that she knew about the throne and what it allowed you to do, then why did she want vendrick to get it? Think, she is a child of dark, so if everything was dark that'd be great for her, but she knows that the first flame keeps rising all the time whenever some asshole lights it up, HOWEVER, if she had a way to CONTROL the first flame, she could just keep it low and live happily ever after. But again, she is a child of dark, she can't do things with the first flame (she's not a vessel, unlike gwyn, vendrick...) that's why she needs vendrick (or you by the end game) to be her puppet. But vendrick realizes what's going on and refuses to be part of the plan, so he sets all the barriers, goes to the crypt... By taking the throne, you're actually gaining CONTROL over the first flame, now I don't really know what that'll mean to you, but while you wouldn't burn in cinders (cause with the throne you're not just fuel) you might start attracting children of dark like crazy (they'll want to control you too), you'd have to carry the weight of people's souls (after all you're already controlling/carrying the weight of the thing that makes souls)... so it's not all rainbows. However, there's still some stuff I don't get, like wtf are the giants in the first place, where did the primordial serpents go and what are they, what happens to monarchs or beings with great souls when they die (we don't see vendrick or gwyn respawning as hollows, although that might just be for the sake of gameplay), what is the difference between having a "light" and a dark soul (that's the biggest; humans and vendrick have dark souls, but gwyn has a light soul (like the great ones), what makes them different? this might be a contradiction to everything I theorized so far, but dark souls lore is making it kinda impossible for someone to make a theory that is not full of holes) If you actually read through all that, thanks, you're awesome
Oh and I guess this theory would be an answer to Vaati's question n5, you are effectively going against fate by controlling the flame instead of fueling or leaving it
I want a Dark Souls 2 DLC sooo bad! a DLC about Rebel Greatshield's owner, Reine! he was Velstadt's former companion, who betrayted the king... JUST IMAGINE HOW BADASS HE SHOULD BE!
rapsody230 torrent is the answer for your "evil dlcs", assuming that you think they're evil only because you don't wanna pay extras for a game you already paid, which I think is a VERY good reason
matiolinomatteino they said no main story related dlcs iirc. i think if they sense a want from the community to maybe touch on some of the lesser refined parts of the lore and maybe a few extra items/ battle stuff, they may feel a bit inclined to release some of that dlc. dlc is only evil when its a pre planned part of the game. mass effect 3 had all that story dlc already content locked on to peoples discs but couldnt play them without a priced code. their multiplayer model was fantastic in terms of mulitplayer dlc as they didnt expect it to be as big as it had gotten by the end of its support life and it was mostly a no added cost multiplayer.
i believe aldia transformed himself into the dragon and thats why they call it an imposter also when the dragon speaks he speck using we almost like there are more than one being in the same mind
And otherwise you cant explain how aldia disappeared + there are these big malformed half dragon half human creatures and if becoming an acient dragon is the "cure" its obvious that aldia would have been the first one transforming into a dragon when he found out how to do that...
I have notoriously amazing subscribers! I'm glad we're getting some great lore theories here. In general though, you guys are awesome. Compared to other channels I have a much higher age-demographic, and it shows. Thank you for being so mature throughout the years.
VaatiVidya Manus stole the dusk from her city, so when the queen found the shard of Manus she could have also possible found a peace of the white maiden within the shard of Manus. And both souls could have over powered her own so she had the intent of Manus, a the look of dusk.
I hope in dark souls 3 you go back in time before the dragons were slain so you had to kill the 4 great souls again to stop the cycle from even existing. It would be so awesome seeing the 4 great knights (ornstein, artorias, ciaran and gough) take down some dragons, then you had to fight all of them. That would be awesome!
+aj swords They should do a buddy bro hack n slash spinoff. Vendrick and Velstadt co op versus increasingly gruesome and challenging creatures/experiments. I'd buy it (also kinda sarcastic , but im sad there will be no DS4)
Do it! Just beat it today. And just beat DS3 a week or two ago. Make sure you play Bloodborne too! So far I think Bloodborne is the best, then DS3, then DS2. Cant wait to play DS1, Demon Souls, and Elden Ring!
My respect for Vendrick just skyrocketed. I mean, it's good to see he didn't want any part of that endless fate cycle crap. His denying of the cycle would take a lot of willpower. (Considering most people would just do what they're told and mindlessly follow the path in front of them). I mean it just seems so annoying that nobody else up until that point ever though "Why should I do this?" Of course I'm sure rulers have in previous unmentioned cycles, but the way Vendrick went about doing it and one upping Nashandra definitely shows the resolve of his character. Great video Vaati, it definitely shed some light on points I failed to notice.
In reality though, it was a wasted effort. If Nashandra gained the throne, the cycle would repeat anyway, then she'd be overthrown as Gwyn and Vendrick were, then that monarch would be overthrown, etc. etc. The cursed undead always wins, then loses. Then wins and loses. Although yeah, I had no idea Vendrick deserved such respect. He's probably one of the better characters in DS2 just because of the things he did to halt the cycle, and Nashandra.
Though your speculation is that Nashandra is born of Manus, she has a striking resemblance to Nito. Even if she is the old Princess, whom was left sobbing (and broken) after Manus's defeat, she was human once, and has seemingly presented as immune to the curse. What if Nashandra is the next harbinger for the Age of Dark? Another funny thing is, many things of Lordran's time are forgotten, but the everlasting Ancient Dragons never are, and Kalameet was supposed to be the last true dragon, and he is slain well before the fall of Anor Londo. I suspect the dragons are linked to the Darksign and the First Flame in some way. Seathe was able to obtain immortality after much research, and Aldia was able to achieve what Seathe sought, but in a better form and without the need of an artifact.
Hm, the princess could be the harbrigner of the age of Dark, kind of when you could chose between lighting the fire or sitting to reign in darkness at the end of dark souls. The way i see it Vendrick after defeating the 4 great one, did not kindle the flame and so dark came has the Queen. Is stubborness to go against fate to me is similar has when you chose to reign on the age of darkness, even if the flame itself was still strong enough for humanity to not hollow yet, the Queen pushed him to wage war against the giant to accelerate the process of the decent to darkness and coveted the throne to rule in darkness. But what prevented Vendrick from lighting the flame, instead of hidding and hollowing? In the end even if he hollowed has a ruler of darkness who had not lit the fire, the 4 great souls he had got reborn. I guess this proved Vaati's theory of whether chosing to rule in darkness or lighting the flame does not matter, you will eventually hollow and the 4 great souls will be reborn for another to go trough the trial anyway.
Food for thought: The first flame exists in Dark Souls 2 as a weak ember, but it had died down in Dark Souls 1 to the point it could actually die entirely, and the Witch of Izalith became a monster in a vain attempt to recreate it. Fast track to DkS2, the Lost Sinner attempted to kindle the first flame as well, but it's unknown if they failed or were stopped. We know the chosen undead can kindle it, suggesting they are far stronger than any other being. However, Gwyn was able to link the fire, beginning the curse, but never quite hollowed. Vendrick proved the curse cannot be broken by ushering in an age of dark. Aldia was on to something when he tried to break the curse, but then, what would happen if the flame was never kindled after Vendrick denied it? o.O
HurricaneSparky I think and this is my personal opinion, if the flame was never kindled by our character after Vendrick denies it, i think a similar fate to vendrick would happen to us, we would hollow and the 4 great one would revive in *x* form and another undead would defeat them to kindle the flame. Assuming no one would *EVER* rekindle the flame, i think we would simply go back to a gray age of dragon and that at some point another first flame would apear and some hollow would pick up the first soul. Then the story would restart all over anew. ^-^
Who became immortal? Where is the proof that Aldia found said immortality? He created dragons, but they weren't perfect, they can be killed (To a certain extent) But what you said also raises another question. If an ancient dragon cannot be slain (Like the dragon covenant keeper in the first game) then why can you slay Kalimeet even though she is considered the final true dragon?
Dude, your voice is amazing! You make everything sound so epic. You could read the ingredients off the back of cereal box and make it sound amazing. Thanks for the video!
Part of me wants to think the "faraway land/land of the giants" is Lordran. When you think about it, who were the only ones not affected by the undead curse in Lordran? I'd like to think the Giants. Maybe with the passing of time, Lordran became the land of the Giants that is referenced so often in Dark Souls II. The game questions... what of those outside the cycle? The cycle of death and life. Sure, that alludes to the Dragons... but what of the Giants we see in Lordran, unaffected by the curse? Those powerful souls used to create a dragon, to create golems... could they be outside the cycle, too? Aldia attempted to use one being's power - a Giant - and fuse it with another - an Everlasting Dragon - both outside of the cycle, and he himself was freed from this cycle, as he became fused with a dragon. The sham we encounter has to be Aldia+that dragon we encounter in the memory. He then created Shanalotte, as she said "the dragon gave me this name" ...meaning he would have had to be a dragon to do so, and she came after his transformation, in an attempt to become another Firekeeper. He saw who was outside the cycle, the ties the curse and Flame had and more... truly a bright man. Maybe the Throne of Want, a Kiln, came from Lordran/land of Giants to Drangleic... as did Nashandra, a piece of Manus who was found in Oolacile. A kingdom found within Lordran's territories. Just a thought. Dark Souls II, and by extension Drangleic, is a tale of loss and want. A loss of memory for some, a loss of self for others, a loss of power, what is cherished and, above all, a loss of control as we see the four Old Ones lose just that with the Lord Souls they were entrusted with. But then there's the want... the want for power, for curing a curse, prolonging life. However, what many don't see, as they grab at straws to find a cure for the curse, is the curse is alluded as life itself. And, blah... lotsa ramblings, lol. My final thought... we should get DLC that, with the Ashen Mist Heart, lets us explore Vendrick's memories - his pile of armor, in the Undead Crypt, would serve as a perfect entry point and by the time we get the AMH, it'd be a great time to open up that part of the narrative.
Also, I wanted to keep this particular message separate as it dealt more with the content of the video... awesome videos, Vaati! I've been checkin' daily to see if anything new popped up and glad to see the first of it. I hope you put out a lot more quality videos that focus on NPCs and areas soon. Dark Souls was already an awesome game, but after watching your videos, I had a new found view and respect for it and hope to see the same happen with Dark Souls II. Lastly, I hadn't noticed the points you made about the Throne of Want having new carvings in it, that certainly confirms that's the prize Vendrick brought back from the land of Giants, or alludes to it anyway. And, the whole Milfanito/Shrine of Amana set up was something I didn't quite get, as well, regarding the little ones dancing and whatnot. Awesome video and I certainly walked away from it with more than a little something.
grimmSOL The door before the King's soul can only be opened by a human. A human with an unspeakable, a human that has traversed all obstacles to get where they are now. A human. Passing through the shrine where the Milfanitos sing their pacifying song, you are given a chance to traverse the shrine. Without fear of death and darkness. And as you present yourself in front of the door, it opens. Because you, my friend, have traversed all obstacles and pushed forward. You did not hollow, and you did not give up. You presented your humanity, and, in such, you presented your unbreakable will to see this through.
Suri Mano Yup. In the way that King Vendrick placed souls INTO such things as the Golems, I'd like to think he's able to take souls OUT, as well. So, I assumed, as one final failsafe, he extracted his own soul, a large and powerful soul, and placed it in the safety of the Shrine of Amana.
Man this video was so satisfyingly edited and written, esp the way you cut in the voices. There is something really haunting and compelling in the characterizations of DS2 that I didn’t get the same feels from in DS3. Like, just with the Emerald Herald alone. You’re the main reason I continued on with downloading and playing DS2 and now DS1; was almost content to finish after Bloodborne but your vids really intrigued me. Glad I ended up playing the other two in series! Thank you VaatiVidya!
I feel like there needs to be a Dark Souls School, i've watched over 10 videos some over 20 minutes like this one and while i do get some of the things, its just too many names and places and items to get it all straight.
Plot twist: Nashandra was so easy because she was the one who passed through the fog, and you were the boss
Because we really became the boss.
Nice. Imagine if the rest of the game was just fighting her endlessly now
@@NintendoCuckooBird01 eternal damnation but you get infinite souls. Definitely worth
@@NintendoCuckooBird01 Everytime you defeat her that's another ng cycle
This is a certified plot twist
Hearing about Velstadt carrying the king to his tomb is actually rather sad. His most loyal of knights see's his king basically die before him and he carries his husk of a body and gently lays him to rest, then guards him for the rest of his days.
Something about that small subtle story really speaks volumes to me. Velstadt must have felt terrible to see the person he dedicated his life to, turn into the very thing he tried so hard to reject.
That's like a pro euthanasy story
Petr Říha you try too hard to appear edgy and cool in an online video platform’s comment section, fuck off.
ColdFish Agreed. Imaging thinking fictional stories can’t evoke emotion 😳
@Petr Říha dude are you ok
@Petr Říha yeah dude, thats besides the point of you having the immature need to feel superior by invalidating other people's affinity for a story or narrative, no one is forcing you to watch this u know lol
"my king, how do you know that the chosen undead will be able to defeat the queen?"
"I have placed in its way obsticles that will grant it a supreme power."
"what power?"
"the power to... STRAFE LEFT!"
Raime: "Shut up Velstadt."
Breaking Inferno I died laughing at this LOL
Breaking Inferno But...but... the Pursuer taught me to strafe right.
I'M CONFUSED
Talking about killing vendrick
the power to...DODGE!!! WHY DIDNT YOU DODGE!!!
"Ok Velstadt, I'm gonna leave my soul here behind this door, and you gotta carry my hollow body to the tomb. You tracking?"
"Yes, your highness. I'm *_always_* tracking."
You gotta find homies like this in your life
i suppose Nashandra kinda forgot that since the chosen undead is, well, undead, they are quite literally unstoppable. unless she killed them so many times over that they went hollow and gave up. but then again that would only happen if... the player gave up... woah...
Mind = blown lol
if the player gives up, he will simply become another wandering undead, giving up on his want, another undead in time will come, slay him and claim his soul for the same purpose.
This is one of the best things that Vaati has brought up in a previous video, I'll just elbaorate a bit:
It is known that undead can prevent themselves from going hollow by keeping themselves motivated for going on, which becomes harder, and harder to do as they die again, and again.
It may seem like the chosen undead is immune to this process, because they can keep dying, and the player can just keep on playing.
However I believe it is not...because the chosen undead's willpower does not come from the character...it comes from YOU, the player character who is driving him forward.
As long as you think the boss, or area that you're stuck at is beatable, and not impossible, the player will keep on going, and trying, because their motivation has not yet dwindled.
However, the moment that the player calls OP on the boss, and rage quits to go do something else with his life...that's when the "undead" stops trying, and when he has truly gone hollow, because the driving force (The player) who mas making him go forward is no longer there because they've given up.
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This I feel is reflected even more amazingly by the "loss of max HP" mechanic in Dark Souls 2 because it reflects how as an undead dies over, and over again it becomes harder to hold on to their sanity, and not go hollow.
The real life version for this is that you get less, and less HP each time making it easier for you to rage quit, and take a break from the game.
i think i said this under another of vaati's vidya's (damn i'm punny), but the process of hollowing dark souls and the gradual hollowing in dark souls 2 is only eyecandy, the true hollowing is the gameplay, you get frustrated a lot and are driven to your limits, either giving up completely on the game or overcoming your limits and acquiring victory, removing the curse of the undead of yourself (finally leaving your room again) until a new souls game comes out xDDD
Kreekakon What about considering your HP as a sanity bar rather than a HP bar?
Damn this was really well done
You know, we are all expecting a new video about a guy like Kirk in DS2 from you.
Not to gush but OnlyAfro I just discovered your videos....AWESOME!! Please continue to bring me joy and ideas.
partycakeboy92 no u
Trusty Patches
Shut up, Patches. You just don't want him to tell everyone you kicked him down that pit.
Nurd _+_)(
One detail that I see glossed over, or at least not directly pointed out, is that Vendrick was immortal. He started a war with the giants that lasted multiple generations, and he had a hand in creating the "Ancient" Dragon. He is also said to have defeated the four great kings, the sunken, iron, and ivory kings. We can only assume the fourth was the king of Olaphis, since that's what Straid says Drangleic used to be called. And when we gather the four crowns, we become immune to hollowing, but remain undead. Essentially, immortal. This is what Vendrick achieved himself, yet he chose to give that up. Rather than slay Nashandra himself, he left behind everything he had gained for us to inherit. After all he went through to avoid going hollow, he chose that fate freely. Is this what it means to cast off the shackles of fate? To exist outside the cycle of light and dark. Is this the same fate we resign ourselves to after we defeat Aldia and reject the throne?
Don't really have answers to all your questions, but just wanted to correct some things.
Multiple generations doesn't imply an inhuman amount of time, 3 generations could take place in under 60 years, and vendrick is certainly not a young man.
He did not have any hand in creating an ancient dragon, he 'revived' one, it's ancient because dragons existed before even the first flame, long before vendrick.
I've not played the DLC so I have no information about the deal with the crowns so I can't say anything about that, but I just wanted to share what I knew.
Listen to Wellager's dialogue. He says Vendrick has watched over this land since ages long long ago. Somehow I don't think that's limited to a single Human lifetime.
BDeerhead Is Wellager the ghost in the castle? If that's him, you could rationalize that his mind has certainly gone sour, but beyond that I don't really have an argument for that.
The idea of him being immortal is certainly interesting, but the fact that he ends up hollowed out does in fact mean he's human, so if he is indeed immortal, I'm not sure if that really has any bearing on anything, at least in the present or future. If he is indeed immortal, and acquired this through the crowns (again I haven't played the DLC so I don't have much info on that) then his influence in the past is also quite limited, as I'm going to assume he acquired these crowns after the undead curse showed up in his land.
This is one of those things that I'm not terribly clear on, but there are certain things that suggest that Vendrick was already undead when he started building Drangleic, just like you are. The only thing that doesn't really square with that is when Nashandra talks about how 'when the undead arose'.
As for why he cast it all away and chose to go hollow, I think he knew that to sit on the throne, he would have to kill Nashandra, and he couldn't bring himself to do that.
AzureLotusGames > the fact that he ends up hollowed out does in fact mean he's human.
Not if you consider he freely separated himself from his soul. The curse touches everything (even the skeleton lords) so a Lord is certainly not free from the curse but simply more difficult to hollow as they have lord souls. Vendrick knowingly locked his soul away from Nashandra thus choosing to become hollow. Also, he's big sized and not furtive pygmy descendant sized.
The reason I like DS2 more than the others is because they did a fantastic job of allowing it to logically exist between the other two, as one cycle among countless bookended by the first and last in DS1 and 3.
I'll never understand why they threw out so much advancement in the lore when they came to DS3. Imagine how amazing it would have been to encounter Aldia and/or the Bearer of the Curse with their unhollowing power, and what that would have meant for the whole series lore.
I love that you explained why Nashandra was so easy at the very end. Lots of people don't get that she was physically unable (due to all the barriers in her way) to gain the necessary power to beat you. You essentially become her final boss as she enters through the fog gate and tries to steal the thrown away.
Great, now I feel super bad for killing Vendrick....This guy was a bro.
He'll stay alive in NG+
He's hollow when you meet him, so it doesn't really matter.
If anything you’re putting him to rest if he can rest so you’re doing him a favour, he also new that a chosen undead would defeat him
@@TheOsirin Actually, undeads appears when the fire is fading, so if u link the flame, all undead should become human until the fire starts to fade again. This technically means that Vendrick will no longer be hollow after u link the flame. I think this is exactly what he planned.
@@alexnexyras6622 hmm interesting. Is it a fact?
@@davidamajako961 I went through a lot of Dark Souls lore and this is for sure a fact. When u link the first flame, for a short period of time, world of Dark Souls is without undeads and hollows. They won't just dissapear so they have to become humans again. Weaker the fire is, more undeads and hollows appaear, which is also a fact.
It also makes sence, because FADING of a first flame makes the age of dark appear, the weaker flame is, the stronger is the dark. If u just relit the fire, the dark is completely suppresed. There's more to it but i would be here forever :D
Man its crazy/cool to me that people can put all this together. I played the whole game and had no idea what was happening the whole time
Literally me playing every soulsborne game 😂
lmaooo same, but it's really on me as I always forget to read the boss souls and other items... you can put so much pieces of lore together through them
Lemme get this straight. dark souls one was the first cycle, since it had all the great souls in their pure forms (Gwynn, witch of izaleth etc), and in between one and two, a bunch of kingdoms rose and fell (olaphis) because of the cycle, and in this time, nashandra was gaining strength after splitting off from manus after he was defeated. On the dark souls 2 cycle then, nashandra interrupts the cycle in order to get the power she craves. Vendrick realised this, breaks the cycle by stopping her with roadblocks like the shrine of Amana and the giants kinship. Therefore nashandra tricks you into opening the throne of want for her, and betrays you, only for you to win. Then you have a choice of embracing the throne or not, but regardless, the cycle continues.
Right?
yes.
though, by collecting the four ancient crowns, the bearer stops hollowing.
P
Yes only the Ashen one ever truly finds a way to subvert the cycle. (Usurping the fire.) Basically by stealing the fire and not allowing it to fade you have essentially halted the cycle things don't get better but can't get worse. Or another way by getting the Dark Soul from Gael the Painter girl is able to make a new perfect world without the flaws of the prior worlds thanks to her using the Dark Soul
The cycle continues regardless, it was merely delayed by Vendrick to make sure Nashandra couldn't obtain that power. The fact of the matter is that because of Gwyn the world is now stuck in an eternal loop, the fire fades, an undead with either reignite it or let it fade, the flame is reignited and will eventually fade once more or if the flame fades entirely embers will remain and one day these embers will eventually catch light and begin a new age of fire after an age of dark. This is why Aldia giving us a new choice is so important because before that our choice didn't REALLY matter as the cycle continued. Aldia gave us the choice to simply walk away, not choosing to reignite the flame or to smother it and we would let the world persist in this age of twilight between fire and dark. Maybe one day a new undead would find their way to the throne and become the true monarch, but that undead won't be us. We have the crown we can hold the curse at bay with it and wander etenally in the age of twilight
Yuh
"A peace so deep it was like..... the dark" favorite ds2 quote
I'll admit, I haven't played through the entirety of DS2, but that quote is chilling
I have been playing through the game again and love listening to Wellagar and Drummond voice actors
"The queen brought peace to this land and to her king"
"A peace so deep it was like...the dark"
"Is this some sort of a dream?"
I get so many goosebumps every single time I hear to lines
A hunter’s dream?
That line is so good but makes me think about my own death
OHHH...So THAT'S why Nashandra was so weak. Vendrick was training us by making the game so incredibly hard.And here I thought it was just bad boss design.
or it was bad design and we fans are speculating to reclaim From's honor for them
To be fair, From makes us speculate a lot of things in this series. Might as well make us speculate if the game's design is good as well
bad boss design? NEVER doubt the creators, feeble cursed one.
***** Gwyn was a good and tough as balls fight. I don't appreciate how he can swing a greatsword with the speed of a straight sword or why his fire buff never wears off though.
*sigh* I hate it when enemies don't obey the same rules as you do. Almost as bad as Gwyndolin being able to fire multiple spells and arrows at once. This is why occult weapons exist, to punish these cheaters.
Easy to parry? I could never get it to work. Probably because I 2h my weapons all day erry day so I'm not used to parrying. I 2h unless the moveset is garbage (looking at you, Butcher's Knife. If you're gonna have downward smash with a long wind up, at least pancake with it. I gave up a running attack for this?)
Wow. This game is so much more depressing after hearing that. Cool story.
Especially after watching Happy Souls.
Dark souls in its entirety is depressing. But its such a great story.
Coz its easy... and it does a lotta damage
Tethe RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD !
Major Buisson I GOT BOSS WEAPONS!
this story reminded me very much of beowulf. beowulf went to a faraway land to find and kill a terrible monster that was plaguing the king and his lands. what he didn't realize was that the current king had done the same thing once, and killed a different monster, only to sleep with the monster's mother to create the monster that eventually plagued his kingdom. then beowulf repeated the same chain of events by killing the new monster and sleeping with its mother. and once beowulf died, it was strongly suggested that his "second in command" would do the same thing as well. just reminds me of dark souls and how no matter what there will rise another king who will inevitably complete the same tasks as the last king, only to be replaced by another one in the future.
that was the movie beowulf. in the original beowulf kills graendal and his mother (while holding his breath for a few days because she lives underwater) then a dragon happens along (not beowulf's son, just some random dragon) and beowulf dies fighting it. personally i liked the movie better. the original, although a classic, was extremely boring just because of how much of a mary sue beowulf is.
Christian Lund i know, i was making reference to the movie haha but do you see the similarities?
I very much agree with you (>^^)> the rebirth of kings and all. Haha makes me giggle to think demon's may in some wacky way still be tied in. I mean, we never did get to see the land of the giants hehe :p
Nice link
I can see the similarities, as long as it's the CGI movie we're talking about.
Vaati, I doubt you will see this, but I just wanted to say the biggest thank you for all your unbelievably hard work on this channel. Your love for these games, and your tireless work has helped me go from passively interested in the series, to devouring all of your content and constantly being amazed at the depth of the storytelling.
Your connection with Angel's Egg was fascinating, I am sure I would never have heard of this movie, and it's absolutely incredible.
Again thank you for all you do!
Discovering how the story of the universe of Dark Souls is the repition of the cycles of Kindling and Darkness, it makes me feel that the Misery of the universe is even stronger than before.
The Misery was strong already in DkS1 because NPCs strived to found a goal and to achieve it, albeit in vain. But discovering those cycles just destroy the meaning of every goal : you will built a kingdom but, in the end, it will crumble. You are fighting for others but, in the end, they will become Hollows.
Dark Souls 2 makes the entire universe even more dark and sad because it gives a kind of nihilist feeling to the goals of every undead : at the end, nothing mattered, everything will crumble, will rise anew to crumble again.
God I fucking love this games.
And I think it's why you can "choose" the end in DkS1 but not DkS2 : it's meaningless now to choose it because it never had any meaning.
Isn't the Emerald Herald proof the cycle can be broken? Born of dragon, conceived by human (or should I say hollow as that's the natural state). She doesn't seem to be affected by the curse, or the cycle. Vendrick and Aldia did what no past cycle pawn had done before: the two tried to break the cycle, and in my speculation, they succeeded.
Requiemrex Im not sure it is a never ending cycle. The abyss seems to be outside of that cycle and in some way even threatening it.
I really hope someone can bring some light in to the dark parts of ds2 lore ;).
Chips Light i completely agree
Requiemrex Yeah, she is outside the curse, but she can't break the curse. That's why she is a failure to her creators ( Aldia and Vendrick).
Man actually understanding the story of this game makes it even more spooky and twisted, this game is truly a work of art
Wow. I took Vendrick as a fool and a coward, but now... Now he seems merely a desperate rebel, who tried to give the next fated ruler what he was denied. A chance to link the fire. I no longer think he denied the first flame but rather, sacrificed himself to keep the last fleeting ember of it safe, so that when it came time to reignite it, it could burn in peace.
This reminds me of Ingward, one of the four sealers of New Londo. A large quantity of people sacrificed, and four sentries placed to keep The Dark from destroying a weakened world. The Looking Glass Knight, Velstadt, The Ancient Dragon, and the two who protect the throne itself, along with the Milfanito, and the Fenito.
As for Aldia, I took him as something of a mad scientist, and a heretic. A man who wanted answers no matter the cost. Now, I see him in new light as well. Still a mad scientist, but his heresy, and his crimes against nature and life itself, were necessary for nature and life to persist. Pragmatic, much like his brother.
He's still a coward. Rather than confront Nashandra, he set up barricades so she couldn't easily reach the Throne, and then ran away in fear of her. He wanted someone else to do what he was too weak and/or afraid to do.
Woops. Had an unfinished thought in there. I meant to compare the four sealers to the Looking Glass Knight, Velstadt, and the others, but it seems my excitement got the better of me, and I skipped a step.
***** Maybe he loved her? I mean, he lived with her for God knows how long, maybe he felt something for her, but not enough to doom his world?
***** Disagree, he understood the cycle and realized that it was only a matter of time before he would succumb to some form of death. He couldnt stop her by confronted her as her soul would have been disbursed once he was killed(died). So he trapped her instead, until someone strong enough came to stop her.
*****
Your name is a Berserk reference, isn't it? Nice.
You need the Giants kinship because Nashandra hated the Giants therefore could never get their kinship, so she could never get the throne
good theory but she couldn't get the kinship because it was lost. that's why you had to go into the giants memories to find it.
When we play DS3 there are still 3 Giants the giant lord ( last giant ) And the two in the gutter meaning the last giant remembers us from crippling him before we actually fought him ?
dark souls 3 is before dark souls 2 and dark souls 1 is before them it is the first and first first was demons souls
when u play ringed city u can clearly see that u ended all 3 games that all turned o dust and nothing until a new flame would be born but it wont happen because a painting of blood and dark soul was born a new Ariendal Painting of a deep ocean ... thats Bloodborne wich also was a dyng world in the end it all gets corrupted and dies it just needs a new painter
No, dark souls2 is before dark souls 3 because of the fact that we could see the dead body of gilligan in dark souls 3. Here from wiki: "Gilligan makes a cameo in Dark Souls III as a corpse that teaches the "Stretch-out" gesture to the player, near the Profaned Capital bonfire."
@@isolated_aeres9473 i fucking thought that face was familiar
Dark Souls :
There's always a king
There's always an undead
There're always 4 powerful souls.
Bioshock :
There's always a man
There's always a lighthouse
There's always a city.
Will the circle be unbroken ?
Shut up
Those are two completely different themes. One is alternate universes where your choices affect what happens somewhere else and one is an endless cycle where your choices don't really matter because it's going to end the same way anyway. You can't really compare the 2. And the concept of alternate universes was only presented in bioshock infinite anyway. (kinda in the beginning of 1 too but nobody knew that)
Slightly Leen I'm not comparing. Just trying to point out how romantic both concept are
+Thaibiohazard123 yeah except infinite's was really poorly handled and doesn't really make that much sense in the scheme of it. not to mention the game itself was kinda meh at best.
+MermDaddy it's supposed to hurt your brain
Jesus vaati toward the end I had a tear in my eye. really powerful n fucking awesome work bro, makes so much sense now you are simply THE BEST at this. great work
I do not believe that the First Flame is an object which is somewhere. I believe that the First Flame is a concept, and that there have been been many First Flames. Basically, it's what happens whenever a Chosen Undead with a godlike soul chooses to link the fire and start a new cycle, sacrificing themselves to birth the flames. The First Flame is literally the first flame in any single cycle.
For instance, the Far Fire of Majula is actually what remains of the First Flame from Dark Souls 1. You find the shattered pieces of the Lordvessel in the basement of the mansion, the ruins in the area look quite familiar, and the undead are inexplicably drawn to the place. It's furthermore quite possible that each of the primal bonfires represent another First Flame, each the beginning and end of different cycles.
Something very very interesting to note is that Sublime Bone Dust is found very close to every primal bonfire, and also to Majula (with the exception of the one near Freja). Perhaps each Sublime Bone Dust is actually the remains of a Chosen Undead from some distant cycle who started a new cycle by creating a First Flame in the nearby primal bonfires? Perhaps the four great souls of each cycle are inexplicably drawn to places where the fire has been linked, which is why we find them so close by?
I believe that King Vendrick peered into the essence of the soul and discovered the truth behind the eternal cycles, and that a new age will not begin until a Chosen Undead sacrifices himself to create a first flame. He likely also discovered that for an Undead to be powerful enough to link the fire, he must possess the four great souls of the previous cycle - like Vendrick himself did. That is why the he had the Throne of Want constructed, which is actually a kiln designed for a Chosen Undead to birth a First Flame and end the curse, however temporarily, by beginning a new cycle.
But a First Flame is absurdly powerful, because it will by definition always contain the four great souls of a previous cycle, or at least strength of a comparable level. Vendrick feared that if he linked the fire himself, Nashandra would sweep in and claim the infant First Flame and the four great souls of the new age for herself, dooming the next cycle to being one of darkness. So he set a plan in motion which would ensure that the next Chosen Undead would be powerful enough to face Nashandra before becoming the First Flame.
And that is you, the player.
It's actually far pire, not fire
that was extremely powerfull interpretation, u nailed it bro.
Nah because of dark souls 3, the first flame is a solid "one" thing.
You're almost right. There is only one First Flame, it just needed to be linked to keep it from fading.
The Soul series are the definition of story-telling in video-games and why games shouldn't be trying to be movies. Because movies or books CAN'T make story telling like these games do and i really appreciate this series for this.
They can; the technique is called distant mountains, though the method is simple insinuation. Imply as opposed be explicit. More specifically, distant mountains refers to mentioning of events occuring or having occured outside the current plot. Sound familiar?
I know I'm in the wrong place to hold this opinion, but games aren't as special as most people try to make them. Games use most of the same elements, but have different rules as to their application, like how cinematography has rules as to how and when to cut, in games, you should generally speaking never do it at all, forcing developers to build the sets around the camera instead of placing the camera around the set.
Books and movies can, but shouldn't do what these games do. Part of the engagement lies in the interaction, with little else happening on the other (sensory and narrative) layers - removing interaction and keeping the other layers the same wouldn't make any sense
The way this video explains why there are so many armored bosses is so good and that almost every armored/humanoid boss had a task to do against the undead plus the fact that The dragon riders are weak bosses because they were trained with a "dragon" near thier side to fight with this made ds2 the best for me i love this story.
Has anyone considered that this cycle is actually fairly realistic? If you take the souls out and skip the fire symbolism it boils down to nations rise and fall and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it. Rome collapsed, the French were bested, China collapsed several times, etc. always a nation, always a leader, time destroys them all.
Also this whole cycle thing reminds me of bioshock infinite and a little of mass effect but that's off topic.
Then we know what's going to happen to the U.S.. America is in a time of a golden age but every great flame must die out and rekindle, just as Dark Souls have said a lot of times before. America will have a time where our our nation will collapse and we will have to restart just like other great nations
More then just civilisations rising and falling, there are theories that the cosmos itself is on a constant loop of death and rebirth, of light and dark. The fact is life is impossible without death and light without dark.
+Godo well, darkness is simply the lack of light. Darkness isn't a thing it's the lack of things so it's not exactly a 1-1 parallel
+risker34 I'm aware of that dude, it's a poetic statement...
+risker34 well, absolute dark doesn't exist either. When something is absolute, it becomes undefined. Darkness doesn't need light to exist, but to BE darkness
I beat Dark Souls 1 and 3 first. Currently I'm playing Dark Souls 2. While progressing the game I became more interested in Dark Souls 2's story than other souls games. It has a different feeling.
This would make an amazing novel.
Btw, for those of you who felt guilty in killing King Vendrick, you can always look at it as a way of putting his body to rest; afterwards, you may obtain his soul so that he may aid you in killing Nashandra.
Richard Mcilwain Well put good sir, well put indeed.
It is truly a brilliant design, when we are able to try to understand each character's backstory and aspirations... even on a character that never even gets one line of speech. Killing Vendrick is also one of the closest things to fighting the hollowed forms of the allies you make in Dark Souls (story-wise), only you never were able to meet him first.
Ceerius much appreciated, but if only we could be so grossly incandescent...
Richard Mcilwain I once killed Vendrick ridiculously early to make the Ruler's Sword and kill Nashandra with it. It just felt so...right. Vendrick, now in the form of his blade (that smashed my ass a few times) could now finally fight the queen he loved but lacked the heart to kill, in the hands of the one who he gambled everything on succeeding.
I think the hate for Dark Souls 2 is so unjustified... It's simply a great game
My favorite game in the entire series
Gameplay is a little floaty, not the best, but we're always comparing it to other souls games, ds2 is better than the average game out there, and the story, lore, characters, voice acting might be second to none in the series
It's fine but on the bottom of list of souls games
Easily
@@badabingbing474 only on the bottom if a brain is absent from your head. gameplay was great imho and people still play it.
Ds2 probably had the best story. It was more coherent and poses more questions directly regarding the story and you were more likely to understand what you’re doing bc the game does a good job explaining it to you that you’re cursed and you’ve lost everything and you’re trying to get it back. The opening cutscene shows this and the game tells you a lot and demonstrates it in the games areas
Such a sad and beautiful story.
Suddenly the super easy Nashandra fight makes total sense! Vendrick wanted Nashandra to be met with resistance all the way to the end. The trials that the Chosen Undead faced prepared her to easily overcome Nashandra's power.
that character you made is so beautiful!
Whew, 10 years, I remember watching this back in like 9th grade after getting Scholar of the First Sin. How the time flies
Born of dragon? Dragonborn! Dovahkin!
FUS ROH DAH!
+Juho Pirttilahti hahah
LMFAO! your comment made my night bro xD
Donald Trump would be impressed by this wall
Amethyst Blade aye
I used to be an adventurer like you, then i took an arrow in the knee!
I just noticed nashandra has legs under her dress during the fight against her.
So do most women.
+grfrjiglstan I meant that I originally thought she slithered around like a slug
+Adamantcobalt and she has a Nito under her Dress aswell
If you look closely at the cutscene at the start of the lost sinner, the bug in her eye is a smaller version of the one in the middle of the bed of chaos in DS1
Vendrick starts a war with giants. I mean, despite the fact that he's at least twelve feet tall, and taller than a few of the giants that we have to fight.
Could you imagine an audience with him? You'd have a seriously sore neck by the end of it.
Anaithnid001 I hope you're joking, but just in case you're not. Vendrick isn't actually that tall.
I'll be completely honest, I was probably wrong with measurements, as I usually don't use feet, being a Metric person. However, when you fight vendrick, you are roughly at eye level with his knee.
i.ytimg.com/vi/uDnhDqyQ2Zk/maxresdefault.jpg
i60.tinypic.com/260ad6x.jpg
So, even though twelve feet may be an exaggeration, he is still on par with the regular giants you fight.
Anaithnid001 That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that he's not inhumanly tall. Videogame bosses, especially in Dark Souls (and also in WoW) are enlarged to make predicting their next move easier, and to increase the epicness of the fight. So vendrick isn't that tall.
You've seen his throne, right? From a lore perspective, he isn't wholly human. He is joined with the Great Soul. Just like the beings of Dark Souls (Gwyn and his companions), they are all from an age of legends, and heroes in legends are always larger than life.
Anaithnid001 Yeah, of course. However, Dark Souls 2 and the B Team failed with the concept of larger people for better gameplay, as in Dark Souls 1 all furniture etc was human sized, while the inhabitants of it were rather large. And although Vendrick was joined with the great soul, the throne doesn't support the actual size argument, as Dark Souls 2 made all furniture fit to scale with the ingame sizes, not lore sizes. w/e :D
I've always believed that Drangleic was in the minds of those who went hollow. My theory is that with the mind separated from the self, it attempts to recover. It forms a false, dream-like reality that mirrors what they know. With all these minds attempting to reclaim the reality they experienced, they ultimately form this collective unconsciousness that takes shape as Drangleic. That would explain the almost dream like layout of the world and the many parallels to Lordran (though admittedly you could also say it's because the designers weren't as dedicated to a connected feeling world as the 1st game). I think even the opening cutscene shows this with it's very surreal imagery. The character's mind is clearly slipping so the events may not be as literal as they're presented. Just my thoughts though.
"We're strong enough because of the barriers in our way." - That should be on a poster
I never thought of Velstadt as a sympathetic character but I love that image of him
One theory is that The King's Ring is crafted from The Lordvessel - and works to unlock those doors in a similar fashion to DS1. Perhaps the ring was crafted in the Majula Mansion's basement where you find The Lordvessel remains? If so, what significance could this have and could it mean Cale played a bigger part of the story than a simple cartographer?
***** It's pretty safe behind Velstadt.
So basically all of this was cuz Vendrick was thinking with this little scepter when some weird-ass suspicious chick came knocking.
Yes, On the death of the father of the abyss his soul splintered in fragments and became these fragile female entities. These fragile but powerful entities all have 1 thing in common apart from their personality.
They search for powerful men. Its seen in the dlc's where they too were married to the kings.
@@davidamajako961 I also find it intriguing that the women and Nashandra took in the form of Princess Dusk which makes it more epic and sad that Manus essentially kidnapped Dusk to steal her essence and when the Chosen Undead finally killed Manus, the fragments were born out of Dusk's image.
Does anyone else find Vaati's voice very calming and just simply nice to listen?
Just had a funny series of observations: Hypothetically, let's pretend the Kiln and its ashy arena are the same place Gwyn was fought in DS1. The kiln is far below New Londo, accessible from the Abyss and Firelink, which is above New Londo. While descending into the Throne of Want, a black abyss lies below, but what else is sandwiched, albeit kind of nonsensically, between Drangleic Castle and the kiln?
Well, Shrine of Amana, a place that bears a strong resemblance to Firelink. Below that? A crypt submerged in the waters that have almost consumed the shrine. This crypt is a place where no light should be presented, according to Agdayne. New Londo housed the Dark Wraiths and Kaathe and the Abyss.
The next logical place to look at is the Undead Parish, built where Drangleic Castle now stands, and here is where I'm surely reading too far into it, but hey, speculation is fun! Traveling away from the Parish, towards Sen's Fortress, there is a dense forest (Shaded Woods), and past that a little ways is Anor Londo, almost precisely where we would expect to find Anor Londo is Heide's Tower of Flame, submerged. Whooooooa.
And then they built a secret sky castle filled with lava above a windmill
So Nashandra was an easy-ish last boss because it was all according to Vendrick's plan?
Well... now I feel powerless.
this proves that the people that played Dark Souls 1 and 2 are heroes of legend and fate imo
I love DS 2. Prob one of my fav games of all time
Maybe Vendrick couldn't link the flame because the throne chair was too small for him to sit in?
Souls in DS can be held yes? Does that mean you could physically shit on a boss soul? Or better yet, piss on it to mark your territory?
Now your saying we Mark the Boss Souls making them eternally ours forever?
Everytime I watch 2:33 - 3:58 I always get the feeling and cry a bit. I'm not ashamed to share this. It's sad and beautiful at the same time.
I really like how Nashandra has 2 cutscenes before her fight, depending on your actions. If you receive the Giant's Kinship before fighting the Throne Keeper and Defender, she comes through the fog gate. However, if you kill the Defender and Watcher before getting the Giant's Kinship, nothing happens, and you have no choice but to leave and come back once you've obtained it, and when you do...she's standing inside waiting for you. Same speech, just instead of her walking through the gate, she stands there looking at the throne as she speaks before turning to face you.
Has any one spoken to her after defeating TW&TD inside Drangleic Castle?
VaatiVidya A mistake I noticed in this video: You accidentally said that Vendrick was responsible for the exile and imprisonment of the undead, but that was actually the Old Iron King who was responsible for those things, not Vendrick. When the curse came, he found the strength to lead his people, according to Nashandra. This means that he realized that no good would come of capturing, exiling, or killing the undead.
Wow....from watching this, I realized that skeletons are just really really old hollows and that golems are made of titanite. If you look at their heads, they've got a similar structure to the Titanite Demons from the first game. So im pretty sure Vendrick went to Lordran a.k.a. Land of the Giants. Considering that's what would be left if the gods left and there's no kingdom there to stop hollowing. And the fact that the lordvessel is shattered in Majula.
he took the lord vessel!! FUCK YES!!! that makes sense! didnt think of that
yeah look in the basement of the mansion in Majula, and in the room where the skeletons are, in the corner, are shards of the lordvessel. I saw a video comparing the shards to the Lordvessel in Dks1. Exact match.
***** good point.... I never thought about the warping..... I actually have no idea. Maybe someone tried to replicate it?
***** tbh i think that one doesnt really matter, it was just to make the dlc more attractive to potential customers
***** and that's only if you got a special edition of the game.
After watching the ending of this series, Vendrick did the right thing. He was letting the fire fade
He chose to not do anything. He knew the fire would be lit the fire will always be lit eventually. He simply gave up before hand. This is why he hid his soul from the queen he didn’t want her ushering in the age of dark he left it up to the chosen undead in a sense to make the decision. Or he gave up hoping the seeker of fire would find a 3rd option. He didn’t necessarily want the fire to fade he was disgusted by his Queen you can tell by his actions. He was just stuck in stasis. Really sad.
Damn it I feel like an asshole for killing the Mirror Knight and Velstadt now...
Funny thing is, after killing Velstadt, and of course knowing who he was in terms of reference to Demon Souls, I was like, there must be a reason why he was protecting the king, I mean, the dude was loyal to the end in Demon Souls too, in a manner of speaking :P
Tears...
***** You never know :P.
So...they were just doing their jobs?,I feel like huge jackass bro...btw I am liking your comment.
Devon Womack Both Velstadt and the Blocking Bass Knight were pretty cruel and evil beings. Velstadt for example had his brother in arms, Raime , exiled because he wanted to be the closest one to the King. And the Knight was a cruel executioner.
To hopefully answer some of your questions, I think what Vendrick stole from the giants was the lord vessel with the old souls within it as well as the kiln of the first flame itself. Using their power he learned more about the soul arts and how to manipulate the soul. I also imagined he took the 4 great ones souls that were Nito, Seethe, the witch of izalith, and gwyn's and split them among his comrades. We know the Old Iron King and Vendrick were comrades iirc, though, after Vendrick conquered the Old Iron King and his realm (taking some of his army for his own, why we find the same soldiers from the old iron king to his own castle). When they talk about Vendrick subduing or mastering the 4 old ones, I think it means he mastered their great souls from the lord's vessel/kiln of the first flame, not that he actually killed them as we the player do in both DkS1 and DkS2. However, the power of the souls were too great for the people he gave it to (or the saint he gave it to died anyways and the soul lost in the bottom of the abyss) and they went mad and became corrupted and then fused with the souls and became something more and no longer in control of themselves. Thus, we have the 4 great ones we're tasked to kill.
Now, the giants he stole it from, I believe, were from what was once Lordran and had made use of the lord vessel. Either they were the old gods related to Gwyn and Gwynevere and Gwyndolin and their sorts and some how twisted or changed, or perhaps they came after the fact. The reason I think Nashandra was trying to kill you for the Giant's Favor is the same reason you get it from the Giant's Lord (much as you get his soul) when you kill him. That upon killing the one who has it grants it to the killer. And, as you pointed out, you can't get to the Kiln without the Giant's favor.
To go back to Vendrick stealing the kiln, I think Nashandra used him to steal it because she wasn't strong enough to beat the giants herself (being only a weaker part of Manus and such) and so she had Vendrick do the deed. She tricked him into believing the giants were planning something bad for Vendrick's people and his realm, but instead used him for her own purposes. The kiln, perhaps then, is what Vendrick used to create the golems in the first place. After all, there are many golems around the kiln that move once you approach having killed Nashandra.
There are still some questions with my theory, but ya, that's what I gathered about DkS2.
It's more likely that Drangleic was built upon the land of Lordran, as ENB seems to think (and he worked on the guide book). This is evidenced by the Duke Tseldora's Archives near the crystalline structures and the birth of the Smelter Demon from the lava around Iron Keep (perhaps it sank into Lost Izalith?) Just food for thought.
Roodoe Eh, there's evidence to hint that it's Lordran, but it's not very conclusive. Especially when you take into account that there's evidence for the place being Astora and Vinheim as well.
For example
"The original Dark Souls' lingering dragoncrest ring description reads as follows:
'A special ring granted to only the most accomplished sorcerers at Vinheim Dragon School.
The ring is engraved with a lingering dragon, and boosts the length of the effects of sorceries.'
Compare that to Dark Souls 2's lingering dragoncrest ring description:
'A ring used long, long ago in a land that existed where Drangleic does now.'"
Now, that doesn't prove it's Vinheim either cause we know that the accomplished sorcerers (like Big Hat Logan) moved abouts from vinheim and brought their rings with them and the DkS2 ring says it was "used" long ago.
As for possible being Astora
"The Elite Knight Set was a famous armor set from Astora which was said to be in the south of Lordran. Drangleic is now famous for making that set out of bradden steel. This correlates well to the relative positions and the plot of the game. It could also explain why there is a sunbro shrine in Drangleic if you follow the line of thought that Solaire of Astora is the first born son of Gwyn."
The God Emperor Chancellor Wellagor says that Vendrick VANQUISHED the 4 old ones and built this land upon their souls. Stealing and vanquishing are two very different things. Drangleic was built on the same land as Lordran just further along the cycle.
lBlackSasuke I could still see vanquishing working here. I said he stole the lord vessel from the giants and the kiln of the first flame and then he vanquished the great souls within. That is, perhaps the souls themselves no others could defeat/master, but Vendrick was the only one skilled/strong enough to.
So by vanquishing you mean he absorbed them? In a similar way that the player character absorbs souls?
This was brilliantly made good job
The memories from this game are insane
I would listen to you talk about Dark Souls lore all day...very interesting stuff.
Dark Souls 2 is my favorite of the series.
Right? A lot of people complain about a lot of the enemies being knights but I think it works given the context of the story and environments.
I should have finished this game before watching this.
Have you finished the game yet?
@@micab7660 bruh
@@micab7660 4 years ago
So did you finished the game
@@piyush6631 yes
I love Dark Souls 2, the tragedy of King Vendreck is a rather depressing and yet noble one.
Dude your videos are hardcore man. Really appreciate it, I have seen the Dark!
***** true,he's legit as gold.
Hey vaati is it possible that the Giant Lord is the Last Giant Boss?
I mean the size would fit and the Lord is the only Giant who uses a sword so it would kinda explain why the Last Giant would rip off his arm to use it as a weapon
Really nice explanation and video!
When I saw Vendrick I thought that gradually seeing the curse spreading across his body he begun losing his mind and tearing his clothes to see how much time he still had because of his fear of eventually turning hollow.
What makes Dark Souls compelling is that it’s basically a Spenglerian fantasy epic set in the twilight of a civilization. The first flame is a pretty clear analogy for the animating metaphysical principle of a civilization, for example. The whole game is just example after example of the faded glory of a once-great age. Even themes of historical cycles in it. Not sure if it’s intentional or if it simply speaks to the same truths that Oswald Spengler articulated on its own but I like it either way.
I really enjojed DS1 and 3, but I think DS2 was the best. DS1 was a great introduction to the curse and the world. DS3 was a strong conclusion. But DS2 was like a huge living story about the curse and an affected kingdom. The story and the characters were the strongest in this game for me, so I ended up enjoying it the most. Vaati does an amazing job explaining this kingdom and the story around it.
Oddly, one of the first thing I think I understood about DS2 lore when I played it was the fact that hollows are emprisoned underground because they cannot be killed. I'm convinced all those human shaped "totems" you see in Black Gulch and near the pit at Majula are hollows. There are structures to get them down the pit and stock them, "prisoners" to take care of the job, and "The Rotten embraces all, in the sanctuary for all things unwanted or tossed away.".
Hollows are treated like nuclear waste!
If nashandra wanted to be so powerful why was she so weak that i face rolled her?
Because you became strong from the barriers set in your way before.
***** But but but.... I was level one....
Z-Virus Then you got gud.
***** That was my first play through i'm playing NG+ and i'm just destroying the bosses no problem.
+grfrjiglstan she is kinda weaker than a lot of the barriers put in our way especially if you take away her curse balls then she might as well be a boss found near the beginning.
This is why I love Dark Souls 2, like I can understand Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3. But Dark Souls 2 is conflicting that they tempt you to keep the world going, or end it but it's all pointless because their's only one end
What sepearated DS 2 from others is that in this specific cycle, the king realizes before his cycle is over that the cycle exists, and tries everything to defy the cycle, not like Gwyn, out of arrogance, but because he knows the workings of his world, and wants to break the rules for his kingdoms benefit. I feel like Nashandra is too weak to reach the throne without your help. I dont think she has a choice but to use the undead and then kill them. Thats probably why she tries to curse you. She wants you to hollow out as fast as possible when she fights you.
I hope I am not alone in this, but when I first saw Neshandra, I immediately thought "That bitch wearing Nito as a skirt. I will avenge you Nito!"
Aegis270 lol
@@SaladSomeone lol
What about this:
By whatever reason, the first flame (throne) was in the land of the giants, beings akin to dragons they are outside the cycle (they never die-they just become trees), and so it was inaccessible to Nashandra. She got Vendrick to invade and take the throne, but the throne had been changed by the presence of the giants and to sit upon it one would need to be "of the giants" (which is represented by the human seat in the giant seat, Gwyn was kind of giant btw), Vendrick could but then he found out Nashandra's etc.
Not a bad theory! :)
:D, it might not be exactly that but I do think that it makes some sense
Interestingly enough, the fallen giant is kinda around the place where we killed gwyn with respect to debris of lordvessel in the "haunted house" of majula. Like if where the shattered pieces of lord vessels are in majula, if that were the exact same place where we had kept it in DS1 then the place where we fought gwyn should be somewhere around the location of fallen giant. That kinda explains why the first throne was in the land of giants.
VaatiVidya, thank you so much for making this video and explaining the almost unexplainable. It makes so much clear to me now. The timing and the making of the video are so remarkable I was bound to listen every word you say. I enjoyed watching your video and you have a good voice to listen to.
And now my small contribution to lore analysis.
The Last Giant and Giant Lord are the same being. No time paradox's come from killing the giant lord because you kill him in a MEMORY not in the PAST. There is a difference.
Thank you Tywin
be nice to tyrion pls
No promises.
I find it interesting that, for the very last boss fight of the game, Nashandra must enter the mist to get to us. Almost as if we are the final boss and she is the one challenging.
So if Nashandra captured a milfanito and put her in a cage sealed by an Embedded, why is the key received after you kill the Demon of Song which is at the end of the Shrine of Amana?
How did the key get there if Nashandra can't get past the calming presence of the fireflies?
When, why and how was the Demon of Song created, and presumed to be allowed to sit in the Shrine of Amana- To whom did he share an alliance with?
I like to think vendrick had a milfanito trapped there to sing eternally making Nashandra docile (human form, not attacking) and the embedded was just a criminal condemned to be a keyhole, it wouldn´t be the first time Vendrick uses criminals, just think of the pursuer (criminal who seeks a pardon through undead hunting) and the shadowmen, criminals being put to good use. Although this theory can be discarded since I think nashandra comes to you even if you leave the milfanito alone in the tower.
*****
That seems a bit of a leap. What makes you think the embedded took her? And why do you think it was to stop himself from doing anything to her? The Key merely says that he bound himself with chains to stop himself from enjoying the pleasures of the flesh. And even if you are correct what makes you think that the Milfenito was not captured at Nashandras behest? Chances are she could not do it herself.
Personal theory time! Nashandra didn't personally capture her, which is a duh. I think the Demon of Song was created by Nashandra to remove the Melfinito from the Shrine of Amana. They're slowly dying off, and they try to keep the Demon appeased as it says in its soul description, so its likely that Nashandra may have been using it as a slow solution to her Melfinito problem. The Embedded likely captured the one Melfinito and brought her back to the castle, likely Nashandra's first idea to remove them, but became entranced by her. Nashandra could have then realized that having multiple people kidnap Melfinito just to fall for them and likely side with them is a bad thing, and thus manipulated him into thinking this entrancement towards her is an evil lust and a danger to her. He then turns himself into the Embedded, also likely with Nashandra's help, sealing her in a cage and giving the key to the Demon of Song, who she then has go take care of the rest of the Melfinito.
This is speculation and mostly guessing, as I only looked at the Key of the Embedded's item description and the Soul of the Demon of Song's. Plus my firm belief that Nashandra, being a being of the abyss and through her other actions, is manipulative above everything else and does not like to dirty her own hands if she can think of another way.
I dont think Demon of Song, because he also can sing, the same song that is threat to Nashandra, that the Melfanitos sing. And, just before the battle with Demon of Song, there is a, apparently, malformed Milfanito. We interact wth her and she just disapears. Anyone have a guess about what is she, and if she is related with Demon of Song?
what if Aldia is the embedded?
I love dark souls 2 ❤️ i remember the commercials and preordering it from GameStop for Xbox 360 in like 8th grade. Good times
Vaati (and anyone else who's interested of course), please have a look through this, I know bloodborne is out and all, but we never really nailed dark souls 2 lore as well as we did the first one, and with SotFS's new dialogue and descriptions I really think it is important that we go back to dark souls 2 lore for a bit. These are my ramblings on something really cool I thought that could solve lots of plot holes, please reply if you have any comments to make on it, I feel that there's still a lot we can dig out of dks2.
The first flame put souls into the world (remember this).
Vendrick became a "monarch", and thus had a powerful enough soul to link the fire (fuel the first flame), even before nashandra came, so even before the war with the giants, and so even before he brought back the "prize"; but what is this prize? The throne of want has a smaller seat carved into a bigger (giant) one, so lets assume that's the prize, but what does it do? It allows you to PUT SOULS INTO THINGS, isn't that kinda like... the first flame! (it put souls into the world). So, while a simple monarch can just fuel the first flame by frying himself, IF you have the throne, you can also CONTROL the first flame (try to think of the throne kinda like an "add-on" to the first flame, that lets you do more stuff). But how did vendrick get the throne? He went to war with the giants, and who told him about the giants? Nashandra! So if we assume that she knew about the throne and what it allowed you to do, then why did she want vendrick to get it? Think, she is a child of dark, so if everything was dark that'd be great for her, but she knows that the first flame keeps rising all the time whenever some asshole lights it up, HOWEVER, if she had a way to CONTROL the first flame, she could just keep it low and live happily ever after. But again, she is a child of dark, she can't do things with the first flame (she's not a vessel, unlike gwyn, vendrick...) that's why she needs vendrick (or you by the end game) to be her puppet. But vendrick realizes what's going on and refuses to be part of the plan, so he sets all the barriers, goes to the crypt...
By taking the throne, you're actually gaining CONTROL over the first flame, now I don't really know what that'll mean to you, but while you wouldn't burn in cinders (cause with the throne you're not just fuel) you might start attracting children of dark like crazy (they'll want to control you too), you'd have to carry the weight of people's souls (after all you're already controlling/carrying the weight of the thing that makes souls)... so it's not all rainbows.
However, there's still some stuff I don't get, like wtf are the giants in the first place, where did the primordial serpents go and what are they, what happens to monarchs or beings with great souls when they die (we don't see vendrick or gwyn respawning as hollows, although that might just be for the sake of gameplay), what is the difference between having a "light" and a dark soul (that's the biggest; humans and vendrick have dark souls, but gwyn has a light soul (like the great ones), what makes them different? this might be a contradiction to everything I theorized so far, but dark souls lore is making it kinda impossible for someone to make a theory that is not full of holes)
If you actually read through all that, thanks, you're awesome
Oh and I guess this theory would be an answer to Vaati's question n5, you are effectively going against fate by controlling the flame instead of fueling or leaving it
I want a Dark Souls 2 DLC sooo bad! a DLC about Rebel Greatshield's owner, Reine! he was Velstadt's former companion, who betrayted the king... JUST IMAGINE HOW BADASS HE SHOULD BE!
sorry for my english everyone -_-'
First: dlcs are evil and should not exist.
Second: as from software is a honest company they already said there won't be any dlcs.
rapsody230 torrent is the answer for your "evil dlcs", assuming that you think they're evil only because you don't wanna pay extras for a game you already paid, which I think is a VERY good reason
matiolinomatteino they said no main story related dlcs iirc. i think if they sense a want from the community to maybe touch on some of the lesser refined parts of the lore and maybe a few extra items/ battle stuff, they may feel a bit inclined to release some of that dlc. dlc is only evil when its a pre planned part of the game. mass effect 3 had all that story dlc already content locked on to peoples discs but couldnt play them without a priced code. their multiplayer model was fantastic in terms of mulitplayer dlc as they didnt expect it to be as big as it had gotten by the end of its support life and it was mostly a no added cost multiplayer.
ajemison3 I agree! Artorias of the Abyss was great! I was just hoping for a character like him (Reine in this case)
i believe aldia transformed himself into the dragon and thats why they call it an imposter also when the dragon speaks he speck using we almost like there are more than one being in the same mind
or giants are a hive mind and that's why they could track vendrick because he stole their power's like mind talking
that dosnt explain how the golems function which is what he stole from them
And otherwise you cant explain how aldia disappeared + there are these big malformed half dragon half human creatures and if becoming an acient dragon is the "cure" its obvious that aldia would have been the first one transforming into a dragon when he found out how to do that...
so i think it is aldia and a giant whom talk to you and the bones where just used to take the appearance of a dragon
makes sense usually the answer with the most proof wins lol
This is a beautiful video. Everything in this game has so much more meaning when you understand what you're doing.
this comment section is unbelievably interresting, I just keep Scrolling dammit >
I have notoriously amazing subscribers! I'm glad we're getting some great lore theories here.
In general though, you guys are awesome. Compared to other channels I have a much higher age-demographic, and it shows. Thank you for being so mature throughout the years.
VaatiVidya thanks!! just keep doing what you do because you are the best at it, we look forward to your new content ^^
VaatiVidya Manus stole the dusk from her city, so when the queen found the shard of Manus she could have also possible found a peace of the white maiden within the shard of Manus. And both souls could have over powered her own so she had the intent of Manus, a the look of dusk.
max ruark The Queen IS the shard of Manus
Or is she!!!!!!
Brilliant work. Keep it up.
I hope in dark souls 3 you go back in time before the dragons were slain so you had to kill the 4 great souls again to stop the cycle from even existing. It would be so awesome seeing the 4 great knights (ornstein, artorias, ciaran and gough) take down some dragons, then you had to fight all of them. That would be awesome!
Your lore videos are great. Very entertaining and they really make alot of sense. Bravissimo!
Anyone else agree that vendrick and velstadt's story is depressing?
+aj swords They should do a buddy bro hack n slash spinoff. Vendrick and Velstadt co op versus increasingly gruesome and challenging creatures/experiments. I'd buy it (also kinda sarcastic , but im sad there will be no DS4)
Didn't hear about that, now I'm depressed
I have to play this game before ELDEN RING comes out.
@Covid 19 NG+3
Do it! Just beat it today. And just beat DS3 a week or two ago. Make sure you play Bloodborne too! So far I think Bloodborne is the best, then DS3, then DS2. Cant wait to play DS1, Demon Souls, and Elden Ring!
Have u played it yet?
My respect for Vendrick just skyrocketed. I mean, it's good to see he didn't want any part of that endless fate cycle crap. His denying of the cycle would take a lot of willpower. (Considering most people would just do what they're told and mindlessly follow the path in front of them). I mean it just seems so annoying that nobody else up until that point ever though "Why should I do this?" Of course I'm sure rulers have in previous unmentioned cycles, but the way Vendrick went about doing it and one upping Nashandra definitely shows the resolve of his character. Great video Vaati, it definitely shed some light on points I failed to notice.
In reality though, it was a wasted effort. If Nashandra gained the throne, the cycle would repeat anyway, then she'd be overthrown as Gwyn and Vendrick were, then that monarch would be overthrown, etc. etc. The cursed undead always wins, then loses. Then wins and loses. Although yeah, I had no idea Vendrick deserved such respect. He's probably one of the better characters in DS2 just because of the things he did to halt the cycle, and Nashandra.
Its so sad you never really finished the dark souls 2 series. I get it bloodborne and shit. But man I really loved dark souls 2
Though your speculation is that Nashandra is born of Manus, she has a striking resemblance to Nito. Even if she is the old Princess, whom was left sobbing (and broken) after Manus's defeat, she was human once, and has seemingly presented as immune to the curse. What if Nashandra is the next harbinger for the Age of Dark? Another funny thing is, many things of Lordran's time are forgotten, but the everlasting Ancient Dragons never are, and Kalameet was supposed to be the last true dragon, and he is slain well before the fall of Anor Londo. I suspect the dragons are linked to the Darksign and the First Flame in some way. Seathe was able to obtain immortality after much research, and Aldia was able to achieve what Seathe sought, but in a better form and without the need of an artifact.
Hm, the princess could be the harbrigner of the age of Dark, kind of when you could chose between lighting the fire or sitting to reign in darkness at the end of dark souls. The way i see it Vendrick after defeating the 4 great one, did not kindle the flame and so dark came has the Queen. Is stubborness to go against fate to me is similar has when you chose to reign on the age of darkness, even if the flame itself was still strong enough for humanity to not hollow yet, the Queen pushed him to wage war against the giant to accelerate the process of the decent to darkness and coveted the throne to rule in darkness. But what prevented Vendrick from lighting the flame, instead of hidding and hollowing? In the end even if he hollowed has a ruler of darkness who had not lit the fire, the 4 great souls he had got reborn. I guess this proved Vaati's theory of whether chosing to rule in darkness or lighting the flame does not matter, you will eventually hollow and the 4 great souls will be reborn for another to go trough the trial anyway.
Food for thought: The first flame exists in Dark Souls 2 as a weak ember, but it had died down in Dark Souls 1 to the point it could actually die entirely, and the Witch of Izalith became a monster in a vain attempt to recreate it. Fast track to DkS2, the Lost Sinner attempted to kindle the first flame as well, but it's unknown if they failed or were stopped. We know the chosen undead can kindle it, suggesting they are far stronger than any other being. However, Gwyn was able to link the fire, beginning the curse, but never quite hollowed. Vendrick proved the curse cannot be broken by ushering in an age of dark. Aldia was on to something when he tried to break the curse, but then, what would happen if the flame was never kindled after Vendrick denied it? o.O
It isn't speculation that she is born of Manus it is confirmed that she is as the guide states Manus' name specifically that she came from him.
HurricaneSparky I think and this is my personal opinion, if the flame was never kindled by our character after Vendrick denies it, i think a similar fate to vendrick would happen to us, we would hollow and the 4 great one would revive in *x* form and another undead would defeat them to kindle the flame. Assuming no one would *EVER* rekindle the flame, i think we would simply go back to a gray age of dragon and that at some point another first flame would apear and some hollow would pick up the first soul. Then the story would restart all over anew. ^-^
Who became immortal? Where is the proof that Aldia found said immortality? He created dragons, but they weren't perfect, they can be killed (To a certain extent) But what you said also raises another question. If an ancient dragon cannot be slain (Like the dragon covenant keeper in the first game) then why can you slay Kalimeet even though she is considered the final true dragon?
Dude, your voice is amazing! You make everything sound so epic. You could read the ingredients off the back of cereal box and make it sound amazing. Thanks for the video!
Part of me wants to think the "faraway land/land of the giants" is Lordran. When you think about it, who were the only ones not affected by the undead curse in Lordran? I'd like to think the Giants. Maybe with the passing of time, Lordran became the land of the Giants that is referenced so often in Dark Souls II.
The game questions... what of those outside the cycle? The cycle of death and life. Sure, that alludes to the Dragons... but what of the Giants we see in Lordran, unaffected by the curse? Those powerful souls used to create a dragon, to create golems... could they be outside the cycle, too?
Aldia attempted to use one being's power - a Giant - and fuse it with another - an Everlasting Dragon - both outside of the cycle, and he himself was freed from this cycle, as he became fused with a dragon. The sham we encounter has to be Aldia+that dragon we encounter in the memory. He then created Shanalotte, as she said "the dragon gave me this name" ...meaning he would have had to be a dragon to do so, and she came after his transformation, in an attempt to become another Firekeeper.
He saw who was outside the cycle, the ties the curse and Flame had and more... truly a bright man.
Maybe the Throne of Want, a Kiln, came from Lordran/land of Giants to Drangleic... as did Nashandra, a piece of Manus who was found in Oolacile. A kingdom found within Lordran's territories. Just a thought.
Dark Souls II, and by extension Drangleic, is a tale of loss and want. A loss of memory for some, a loss of self for others, a loss of power, what is cherished and, above all, a loss of control as we see the four Old Ones lose just that with the Lord Souls they were entrusted with. But then there's the want... the want for power, for curing a curse, prolonging life.
However, what many don't see, as they grab at straws to find a cure for the curse, is the curse is alluded as life itself.
And, blah... lotsa ramblings, lol. My final thought... we should get DLC that, with the Ashen Mist Heart, lets us explore Vendrick's memories - his pile of armor, in the Undead Crypt, would serve as a perfect entry point and by the time we get the AMH, it'd be a great time to open up that part of the narrative.
Also, I wanted to keep this particular message separate as it dealt more with the content of the video... awesome videos, Vaati! I've been checkin' daily to see if anything new popped up and glad to see the first of it.
I hope you put out a lot more quality videos that focus on NPCs and areas soon. Dark Souls was already an awesome game, but after watching your videos, I had a new found view and respect for it and hope to see the same happen with Dark Souls II.
Lastly, I hadn't noticed the points you made about the Throne of Want having new carvings in it, that certainly confirms that's the prize Vendrick brought back from the land of Giants, or alludes to it anyway. And, the whole Milfanito/Shrine of Amana set up was something I didn't quite get, as well, regarding the little ones dancing and whatnot.
Awesome video and I certainly walked away from it with more than a little something.
grimmSOL The door before the King's soul can only be opened by a human. A human with an unspeakable, a human that has traversed all obstacles to get where they are now. A human. Passing through the shrine where the Milfanitos sing their pacifying song, you are given a chance to traverse the shrine. Without fear of death and darkness. And as you present yourself in front of the door, it opens. Because you, my friend, have traversed all obstacles and pushed forward. You did not hollow, and you did not give up. You presented your humanity, and, in such, you presented your unbreakable will to see this through.
Suri Mano Yup. In the way that King Vendrick placed souls INTO such things as the Golems, I'd like to think he's able to take souls OUT, as well.
So, I assumed, as one final failsafe, he extracted his own soul, a large and powerful soul, and placed it in the safety of the Shrine of Amana.
Man this video was so satisfyingly edited and written, esp the way you cut in the voices. There is something really haunting and compelling in the characterizations of DS2 that I didn’t get the same feels from in DS3. Like, just with the Emerald Herald alone. You’re the main reason I continued on with downloading and playing DS2 and now DS1; was almost content to finish after Bloodborne but your vids really intrigued me. Glad I ended up playing the other two in series! Thank you VaatiVidya!
19:54
“Now be one with the da-“
“LIGHTENING!”
“Ahh~”
Happy Souls detected xD
I feel like there needs to be a Dark Souls School, i've watched over 10 videos some over 20 minutes like this one and while i do get some of the things, its just too many names and places and items to get it all straight.
Repeat and repeat
Nasandra gives me lady Macbeth vibes
I appreciate all the work you put into these two video. You did a great job at telling the story.