Dark Souls 3 ► Story of The Ringed City [part 1]

"Oh..." "Filianore" "H-help me... please" "The red hood's come to eat us..." "... to eat our Dark Souls" At the very end of the world, the final battle begins. A fight between an Undead Slave Knight who persisted since the Age of the Gods and Unkindled Ash, born of the cycle itself... and in the ruins of countless civilizations; their fight spills the blood of the Dark Soul, from which a new world can be born. The Ringed City DLC, even though it lacks a flashy ending cut-scene, ends the Souls series in a beautiful way. For it's fitting, that only at the end of the world would we finally understand how it all began. In the Age of Ancients; four souls were found by creatures that crept from the dark four Lord Souls that would shape the world. Of course, these souls were shared, for a lord requires subjects so Gwyn had his royalty, the Witch had her daughters Nito had his dead, and the Pygmy who found the Dark Soul fathered humanity... and we always assumed that there was only one Pygmy. Indeed, there is only one Furtive Pygmy shown in the trailer, and only one Pygmy referenced as our ancestor, and while it fits best that this might have been Manus, who went insane in Oolacile the Furtive Pygmy's identity was never really important for the Furtive Pygmy was just that, furtive whoever they were, whoever they became, they did not seek a name they did not seek trouble, and they certainly did not seek the light for without light, there are no shadows. Like the other lords, the Pygmy shared their Dark Soul creating a line of Pygmy royalty in the Ringed City and in the Ringed City, we find the first evidence of early man descendents of Pygmies, with armaments forged in the fires of the Abyss according to the Dragonhead Greatshield the Ringed Knights, by command of the Gods, stood amongst the ranks who set out to slay the ancient dragons clearly they each returned with the head of an Archdragon as their prize yet their contributions in the war, were never lorded, perhaps you can guess why: The former king of Light, he feared humans, feared that they would usher in an Age of Dark. As Gwyn, it was one thing to have fought for a new Age of Fire but it was another experience entirely, to feel this fear of losing it. This fear brought out the worst in him Humanity had aided him in this great war against the dragons and yet, it was foreshadowed that his Age of Fire would eventually fade into an Age of Dark so, patiently, the humans waited their turn and in dire fear of this, Gwyn sealed his fate, literally. A ring of fire was placed upon the armor and weaponry of early men and their true darkness was lost forever and one day, this dark sign would appear upon man's very flesh a seal of fire, surrounding the darkness of humanity a brand, that burns away the very soul of a human until only a hollow is left. And eons later, the very world would bear this brand unable to move on from an endless Age of Fire. This marked a terrible event in human history one which may well have tied humanity to the Age of Fire and an event that may well have changed man's nature; this, was the first sin: "Once, the Lord of Light banished Dark and all that stemmed from Humanity And men assumed a fleeting form. These are the roots of our world. Men are props on the stage of life, and no matter how tender, how exquisite... A lie will remain a lie." Some humans remained faithful to the gods of the Age of Fire and they rejected this darkness deep within them. Some took pride in their newfound undeath Reveling in what it truly meant to be branded. And eventually, a new creature would even be born The Unkindled. Born from the ashes of Undead who sacrificed themselves to the Flame long ago "If thou art yet human, the urge will soon begin to swell to curse the gods and bring ruin to this accursed heap of dung." And one day, some pygmies whisper, this curse placed upon the Abyss will eventually take the gods themselves "May the Abyss' curse take the gods..." After the conquered the Archdragons Lord Gwyn made a habit of bestowing gifts upon those who had aided him in his war To Seath, for example, he awarded Dukedom and bequeathed unto him a shard of a Great Soul and embraced him as a part of the royal family. To The Four Kings, also were fragments of a Great Soul bequeathed, for Gwyn recognized their foresight. And to the pygmies, the great Lord granted sovereignty of the Ringed City, an isolated place at world's end for them to live, in peace. However, of all the gifts he gave, this one appears to betray his prejudice towards the holders of the Dark Soul For when we visit, it's common knowledge that the Ringed City was not so much of a home as it was a prison "The forsaken Ringed City was walled off by the gods to contain the pygmies. ...and the dark soul is better left well alone." At the heart of the Ringed City, lies Gwyn's youngest daughter; locked in an endless slumber: The princess, Filianore. "Her slumber, is a deceit; a lid, covering an overgrown privy. A prob to keep thee from the dark soul of thine desire." Somehow, this slumbering princess and - or - the egg that she holds, protects the pygmy royalty; hides their dark souls and perhaps even forestalls the end of the world. "How?" Well, we will get to that in a video analyzing the princess and her roots in the movie "Angel's Egg" So, subscribe, if you are interested in that. But ignore the "hows" for now, and simply accept that she has this power; evidenced by the pygmies that we find when we crush the egg and break through time. As you can imagine, the Ringed City revolved almost entirely around the defense of this princess A fact that's made abundantly clear to you as soon as you enter *Lord have mercy on my sou--- URRRGH!* These ruined knights, were once like you; journeying through the Ringed City, so that they could find the legendary dark soul. They were sent here on and old king's orders but they were so soundly crushed that they had little choice but to swear themselves to the Judicator Giant. This judge capable of enslaving the spirits of those who would threaten the city. This enslaving, of those who would threaten you, allowed the city's defenses to grow significantly over time. "Unknown visitor, return from whence thou came'st. The Abyss runneth deep. By the king's decree. None may disturb our mistress's slumber." Argo watches over the Spears of the Church, an order devoted the defense of Filianore. Their last recorded member to join was named Halflight, who was a missionary on a visit to the Ringed City, who elected to stay behind. Halflight, wielding the White Birch Bow, a relic of Oolacile, surely hailed from the ancient land of Light soceries, and considering the Ringed City accepted this Mission from Oolacile the two cities must have once had some sort of alliance. And you too, can stand alongside him as a Spear of the Church. "Ah, thou'st... a Divine Spear become! An honour once bestowed in the time of the Gods, nearly unheard of in this age of waning fire. As a servant of the Princess, and friend to Midir, I am honoured to have met thee. This is Shira a woman of many titles; Daughter of the Duke, Descendent of the Gods, Matriarch of the Church, friend to Midir, a dragon-slaying knightess and handmaiden to princess Filianore. In no small way, Shira is the last living representative of the Old gods. This place we find her, is called "The Dark Room" where she will always remain for she took it upon herself to imprison herself here, to watch over the undying corpse of a pygmy king. Long ago, a mad king was born to the pygmy royalty of the Ringed City, and Shira put him to rest impaling the king upon her cross-spear. However, cross-spears were for killing dragons, and her weapon was not suited to kill the king and so, forever entwined, she took it upon herself, as an eternal duty, to deliver the Spear and the King to the Dark Room, where she would hold them close until the end of time. This is proof, that even primeval Humanity may well have starting to cause problems going wild, as we know it is want to do. Darkness was starting to wear upon the Ringed City, its inhabitants and even its most powerful defender Midir. Midir, descendant of Archdragons, was raised by the gods and since he was immortal, it made him the perfect creature to be tasked with this eternal duty. To battle the dark, and watch over the sleeping princess until the end of time. But as the city sank into the abyss, so too did Midir. Only finding release, at the hands of Shira and an Unkindled. "Many of us are by the fire... ... forsaken ... I speak of thine kind... ... and mine." The locusts rise from the Abyssal Swamp, some, claiming to have been around since the beginning not unlike humans. Others, representing little more than a hunger, presumably, intended to reduce the world to nothing. "Fear not the Dark, my friend. And let the feast, begin." And so, at the heart of the Ringed City, we are meant to question; whether the Abyss is inherently bad. For there have been many references throughout the series of a calm and gentle Dark. But so many also of an Abyss gone wild. *Sweet dreams, my prince* "And so, she lived in fear, of the Dark, of the things that gnawed at her flesh. And yet, the Abyss hath yet to produce any such creature." The locust preacher posits that the Abyss was never a threat, or, at least that it never was in the beginning. Perhaps it is the seal of Fire that casts the shadows, sending the Dark into a frenzy... But of all the characters to trust, can we really trust the locusts? According to their Right Arm, the White Faced Locusts were meant to beckon men to the dark with their sermons, and since they spin the Abyss in such a positive way, can we really trust their words? Would you instead believe that Gwyn was right to fear the Dark? Was he right to mistrust Humanity, to brand them, to shepard them, to wall off the pygmies and contain the Dark Soul? The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle; yes, the yearning of Humanity often turns them into monsters, but any hope of a calm and gentle Darkness might well have been lost when Gwyn marked them with the Darksign. And while the Ringed City has revealed that the seal of Fire was indeed Gwyn's doing, the nature of Undeath is still a mystery that we have to figure out, for in Dark Souls 3, also, remember are Dark Sigils, holes untouched by fire that seep Humanity. And may also be responsible for the problems of humanity. "There is more dark within you then even you know. Dark, is the mother of all. All things were born from it." So, we will get to what exactly cursed Humanity with undeath, in another video. But the fact remains; hope exists in an Undead man, who has endured since the Age of the Gods: Gael. In Part 2 of this video, we will explore Gael's character, now that we are armed with the knowledge of the Ringed City and the origins of Humanity. So click here for this video, if it's out, subscribe if it isn't. And I will see you very soon.