What's up guys, I'm Dave Klein, and welcome back to my Dark Souls Lore series.
Today, we're going to talk about the character who is arguably the most influential towards
your quest as the chosen undead.
As the puppeteer behind several aspects of your quest, it's time to talk about...
Gwyndolin.
To start, we need to begin with Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight who ruled over Anor Londo.
Gwyn had three children: A firstborn son and "god of war [who] inherited the sunlight"
from Gwyn; A daughter, Gwynevere, the Princess of Sunlight who was cherished by all; And
a lastborn son...
Gwyndolin.
Gwyndolin's set tells us, "The power of the moon was strong in Gwyndolin, and thus he
was raised as a daughter."
In fact, Gwyndolin seems to not only have been raised as a daughter... but resembles
one too.
Yes.
Yes... those are boobs.
And while Gwyndolin was raised as a daughter for his affinity to the moon, he was also
shunned by the family.
In order to honor the Lords of Anor Londo, statues were constructed.
These include a large statue of Gwyn standing tall amongst his children.
On his right, a missing statue of his eldest son, whose " foolishness led to a loss of
the annals, and rescinding of his deific status."
And on Gwyn's left, his beloved daughter Gwynevere.
And yet, amongst these statues, amongst these honors, there lies no mention of Gwyndolin.
At first glance, Gwyndolin could not even exist.
He's never mentioned, there are no statues honoring him, and he is a complete shadow
over Anor Londo.
And yet, it would seem Gwyndolin yearned for his father's love.
Gwyndolin is found guarding over Gwyn's tomb, where he dons his Crown of the Dark Sun, which
tells us "The image of the sun manifests Gwyndolin's deep adoration of the sun."
As time moved forward, and the Age of Fire came to a close, Gwyn left to sacrifice himself
to extend the Age.
And soon, all dieties would leave Anor Londo..
All except for one.
"The Dark Sun Gwyndolin is the only remaining deity in Anor Londo.
His followers are few, but their tasks are of vital importance."
Gwyndolin stays behind in Anor Londo where he oversees the Blades of the Darkmoon, and
the Darkmoon Covenent.
"O Disciple of the Dark Sun.
Thou hast journeyed far; hear my voice.
If thou shalt swear by the Covenant, to become A shadow of Father Gwyn and Sister Gwynevere,
A blade that shall hunt the foes of our Lords; Then I shalt protect thee, safeguarding thy
person with the power of the Darkmoon."
Like Gwyndolin, followers of his covenant are asked to become shadows.
These Blades of the Darkmoon hunt down the guilty, and according to the Darkmoon Séance
Ring, their task is of vital importance.
They are given a blue eye orb in order to complete this, where they "Invade [the] world
of [a] player in [the] Book of the Guilty [and] Subdue [that] player to acquire [a]
Souvenir of Reprisal.
These mystical orbs are granted to Blades of the Darkmoon knights who serve the Dark
Sun Gwyndolin, so that they may serve the Gods in meting out vengeance."
By leveling up in Gwyndolin's covenant, players will learn the Darkmoon Blade miracle.
"The power of the rays of the Darkmoon are manifested in vengeance, and the deeper the
animus, the more devastating the attack."
These sinners that Gwyndolin's Blades hunt down are determined by the Book of the Guilty.
"The Goddes of Sin Velka oversees the list of the guilty, who have disrespected the Gods
of the covenants, and shall one day face the wrath of the Blades of the Darkmoon."
While Gywndolin seems to be staying in Anor Londo to look over his covenant in the shadows,
there is a far more vital reason he remains... to manipulate the chosen undead into Linking
the Fire.
The Ring of the Sun Princess tells us "The Princess of Sunlight Gwynevere left Anor Londo
along [with] many other deities, and later became wife to Flame God Flann."
And yet, players receive the Ring of the Sun Princess from Gwynevere herself for joining
her covenant, the Princess's Guard.
So who gave you that ring?
The Darkmoon Blade Covenant Ring tells the answer, "Gwyndolin, all too aware of this
repulsive, frail appearance, created the illusion of a sister Gwynevere, who helps him guard
over Anor Londo.
An unmasking of these deities would be tantamount to blasphemy."
It would seem Gwyndolin's Darkmoon powers don't only manifest themselves into powerful
sorceries, but also illusions.
He has created an illusionary sister to trick visitors; finding Gywndolin requires wearing
the Darkmoon Séance Ring in order to remove an illusion blocking the path to Gwyn's Tomb;
and even Anor Londo itself is under an illusion.
By destroying the illusion of Gwynevere, Gwyndolin will angrily call out to the Undead, and lift
the veil off of Anor Londo.
"Thou that tarnisheth the Godmother's image.
I am Gwyndolin.
And thy transgression shall not go unpunished.
Thou shalt perish in the twilight of Anor Londo."
Gwyndolin sets various Blades of the Darkmoon on the chosen Undead, all while lifting the
multiple illusions off of Anor Londo.
The guards, demons, and sun all disappear, and the once radiant Anor Londo becomes a
depressed moonlit vista.
What's more is, as Gwynevere was revealed to be Gwyndolin's illusion, everything Gwynevere
has said and done has to be coming from Gwyndolin.
"Since the day Father his form did obscureth, I have await'd thee.
Once living, now Undead, and a fitting heir to father Gwyn thou art,
O chosen Undead And beseech thee.
Succeed Lord Gwyn, and inheriteth the Fire of our world."
Gwyndolin, talking through Gwynevere, gives the chosen Undead the Lordvessel, and, failing
to mention that whole...
sacrificing yourself to the flame thing...
attempts to manipulate the Undead into "succeeding Gwyn" as an heir.
In doing so, we also learn Gwyndolin has been planning this with Frampt's aid.
"Please.
Father's role thou should assume, and inheriteth the Fire of our world.
Thou shalt endeth this eternal twilight, and avert further Undead sacrifices.
Kingseeker Frampt, the primordial serpent, shall guideth thee."
Yet, another interesting note is that Gwyndolin, controlling Gwynevere's illusion, would also
seem to be the real one in charge of the Princess's Guard, and thus controlling two covenants
of the game.
So, we know that Gwyndolin, along with Frampt, are responsible for the Undead's mission to
succeed Lord Gwyn.
But, several questions still remain surrounding Gwyndolin.
For one: Why aid in extending the Age of Fire after being shunned by his father, Gwyn?
While this is the case, Gwyndolin guards his father's tomb and the only time he will directly
attack the player is for trespassing.
"Halt!
This is the tomb of the Great Lord Gwyn.
Tarnished, it shall not be, by the feet of men."
Gwyndolin's Crown of the Dark Sun tells us: "The image of the sun manifests Gwyndolin's
deep adoration of the sun."
He even creates an illusionary sun to make his father's city, Anor Londo, still look
glorious.
I believe Gwyndolin has a deep-seeded want for his father's affections and respect.
Even after Gwyn's departure, Gwyndolin is still to do what he believes would make his
father finally be proud of him.
Another question is why is Moonlight considered to be so feminine?
My buddy John Quick poses the idea that perhaps Gywn's wife was associated with Moonlight,
and thus, Gwyndolin being born with the power of the Moon, was considered feminine.
And speaking of which, who exactly is Gwyndolin's mother?
Some unknown diety we have yet to meet or hear of?
Some have even speculated that Velka could be Gwyndolin's mother, due to their connections
with hunting down the guilty.
What do you guys think?
If you'd like to see more about Velka and her relationship with Gwyndolin, go ahead
and watch my Velka lore video, where I discuss in detail some of the interesting correlations
the two have.
Interestingly, Velka is known for dealing Justice, where-as Gwyndolin's Blades are described
as meting out Vengeance.
But, why is Gwyndolin so focused on Vengeance?
Is it perhaps his chance, as a frail and often stepped on character, to feel powerful and
step on others?
Or is there something else behind it?
The Darkwraiths could be considered an opposite covenant to the Darkmoon Blades, and as their
mission is to begin the Age of Dark, perhaps this Vengeance is to strike down those who
would try to end the Age of Fire.
Yet another question arises from Gwyndolin's Blade of the Darkmoon, the Darkmoon Knightess.
Her Brass set tells us "After becoming Undead, she visited the Dark Sun Gwyndolin at the
Mausoleum of the Spiral Depths, became a Blade of Darkmoon, and assumed the flame-keeping
duty.
She received this helm, which hides her hideous form and helps her hunt the guilty."
This seems to imply that she may have become a Fire Keeper after visiting Gwyndolin.
So does this mean Gwyndolin has the ability to create Fire Keepers, or was the Darkmoon
Knightess already a firekeeper to begin with?
It does seem like Gywndolin would understand and empathize with the plight of Firekeepers,
who are known to be hideous in some way, as he considers himself to be frail and repulsive.
And speaking on that, what's with Gwyndolin's lower half?
His legs seem to consist of various serpents holding him up.
Was he experimented on by the likes of Seath, and, like the Picasas, now has a serpent-esque
lower half?
Or, as youtuber TerraMantis suggests, is this perhaps another illusion to make himself look
more intimidating.
Serpents are an interesting choice because, according to the various covetous serpent
rings, "The serpent is an imperfect dragon and symbol of the Undead."
So, what is the son of Lord Gwyn doing with the leggings of an imperfect dragon?
And, speaking of Seath, another indication that Seath may have experimented on Gwyndolin
is within the Moonlight Butterfly.
The Moonlight Butterfly being akin to Gwyndolin both in its affiliation with moonlight, and
also in the spells it casts.
Another interesting correlation with Gwyndolin is in the Moonlight coated Painted World of
Ariamis, which also just happens to be located right above Gwyn's Tomb, and where Gwyndolin
resides.
I think it's possible that Gwyndolin is behind the painted world in some way.
While Aramis created the world, perhaps Gwyndolin oversees it.
Our final view is of Priscilla basked in Moonlight... does this perhaps tell us something?
And finally, the most vital question of all: Who came up with the idea to shepherd the
chosen undead into linking the flame?
Gwyndolin could have come up with the idea as a way to extend his father's era, and then
partnered with Frampt in order to achieve this.
Or, altneratively, as the primordial serpents are known for their deceptions, Frampt could
have manipulated Gwyndolin into this scheme himself?
What do you guys think?
Alright, that wraps up this Dark Souls Lore video.
I know this video posed a lot of questions without clear answers, and I think a lot are
up for interpretation, but none-the-less, I think Gwyndolin's a vital character to cover.
If you're interested in more videos about Gwyndolin, I highly recommend checking out
TerraMantis' Gwyndolin lore video, seen through the perspective of Gwyndolin.
As always, let me know your interpretations and thoughts in the comments below, and I'll
see you guys next time.
Peace!