The story of the Souls series oozes with complexity that only a few understand. All players are thrown into the broken world of Lordran for the first time and must comprehend what is happening in the land of the gods. One thing is certain: a greedy man with great power is to blame.
What you need to know first: Those who paid sporadic attention in Dark Souls will know what it’s about. You are the legendary “Chosen One,” must defeat all the Lords and snatch their souls, and bind the fire again – all just to ensure that the Age of Sunlight can continue.
From some NPCs, one learns that Gwyn was the first Lord who could bind the fire with his power. One might think Gwyn was an honorable Lord who wanted to stop the end of the world, but… that is not the case.
Behind the facade of the mighty Sun Lord hides a cunning figure that is brimming with selfishness, greed, and fear. To understand this, we present details that are not immediately obvious but illustrate how Gwyn has plunged all beings into ruin.
The impossible goal of a desperate Lord
Whoever comes to Anor Londo for the first time is greeted by a magnificent and opulent city – the city of the gods. After Gwyn ended the Age of Ancients and nearly wiped out the Everlasting Dragons, he, along with other gods, built Anor Londo to provide a home for the gods. The Age of Sunlight was born.
In the Age of Sunlight, everything seemed splendid, and it was for a long time for most gods, but not for Gwyn. The Sun Lord already knew before the war against the dragons that his age would not last forever, for there was the furtive dwarf.
He found alongside the other Lords a very special soul, the Dark Soul. This soul, more powerful than those of the other Lords, had the potential to usher in a new age – the Age of Men.
The interesting thing about the Dark Soul was that it did not lose power when split into several parts. However, this was the case with Gwyn’s soul and the other gods.
The furtive dwarf split his soul into multiple humanity aspects and thus created humanity.
This posed a danger for Gwyn because he wanted to avoid being overthrown at all costs. The knowledge of the Dark Soul and the emergence of humanity was far too dangerous. To prevent this, the Sun Lord played the friend of the dwarves:
- He established the Ringed City at the edge of the world to give the dwarves and some humans a “home”.
- He entrusted his youngest daughter to the city, who sealed the place with her magic, isolating it from the rest of the world
- This spell was so powerful that it lasted for millennia, preserving the city while Gwyn was long dead.
But that was not enough. Even though the remaining furtive dwarves were now “banished”, there were still humans in Lordran with their humanity, and as long as they possess humanity, they are also a danger.
To see the extent of the destruction wrought by wild humanity, one need only refer to the DLC of Dark Souls 1. Manus, the antagonist of the DLC, plunged an entire city into darkness and corrupted its inhabitants.
Gwyn knew even before the disaster with Manus that humanity could plunge entire cities into darkness, and to banish this threat, he created the Dark Sign.
He cursed humanity and ensured with this seal that humanity would come under control. The Dark Sign is also connected to the bonfires – everything that the humans possess concerning souls or humanity is slowly consumed by the Dark Sign in order to keep the First Flame alive.
One might think Gwyn has banished the darkness, but the natural cycle dictates that the Age of Sunlight must end, leaving the Sun Lord with no choice but to sacrifice himself.
His efforts were in vain, and as desperate as the Lord was, he divided his remaining power among his children and descended to the First Flame. He used his remaining Lord’s soul to rekindle the First Flame and maintain his age.
However, he did not do all this to protect all beings, but to secure the power of the gods. That this was in vain, we all see with the beginning of Dark Souls 1. No one can change a natural cycle, but Gwyn, in his pride, plunged all beings into ruin – gods, giants, and humans alike.
The consequences of his extended age can be seen in Dark Souls 3 as the world clung to life for far too long, ultimately causing reality to collapse in on itself. Whether an age of humanity would have been the lesser evil remains debatable.
Note that the lore in Dark Souls allows much room for personal interpretations. However, we have mostly adhered to details that are supported by the lore, item descriptions, and conversations with NPCs. Dark Souls also offers a wealth of bosses alongside its profound lore, but which of them is the strongest? We show you here: The strongest bosses in Dark Souls 1, 2, and 3 according to lore in the power ranking
