Hey guys, I'm Dave Klein, and welcome back to my Dark Souls Lore series.
Today, we're gonna talk about Quelaana, because she's an interesting character for several
reasons.
As the mother pyromancy, and one of the most talkative characters in the game, she deserves
her own video.
So -- let's begin.
"The Witch of Izalith, one of the legendary Lords,
is the godmother of pyromancy."
While The Witch of Izalith is considered the Godmother of Pyromancy, we know from the Ascended
Pyromancy Flame that it is "Pyromancy flame drawing upon the latent power of Quelana of
Izalith, mother of pyromancy."
We also know through Quelana's Armor set she drops, the Gold-Hemmed Black set, Quelana
of Izalith is the "mother of pyromancy and Daughter of Chaos.
She wore this gold-hemmed black cloak before even the Age of Fire."
And, as she is one of the Witch of Izalith's 7 daughters, she is presumably one of the
witches we see weaving fire storms in the intro.
As the mother of pyromancy, Quelana trained the pyromancer Salaman, "Long ago, I accepted
another pupil, like yourself.
Over two-hundred years ago, there was a man, almost as bungling as you...
in your world he was called Salaman the Master Pyromancer.
The little rascal really made something of himself."
Salaman went on to train Carmina in the ways of pyromancy, and it is widely speculated
that Salaman (as a "he"), in turn ,trained Laurentius of the Great Swamp.
"My teacher, whom I imagine still resides in the Great Swamp,
had a funny way of putting it.
He said that "Pyromancy is the ultimate fantasy...".
The other speculation being it was Carmina, being that Laurentius sells a couple Carmina's
pyromancies.
We also know that Pyromancy comes from the Chaos Flame.
It is the act of passing your flame to someone else.
Prior to the chaos fire, we see the Witches of Izalith weaving firestorms...
with catalysts.
In fact, the Izalith Catalyst is described as: ""Catalyst of the Witch of Izalith of
long ago, when her daughters were still flame witches, before they were engulfed by the
Chaos Flame.
Before the birth of pyromancy, their wands were mediums for sorcery, but knowledge of
this flame sorcery has long since vanished."
This itself would indicate Quelana developed Pyromancy after the Chaos Flame was born.
After talking with Quelana enough, we also learn that she ran away from the Chaos Flame,
and escaped its transformation of the beings of Izalith into Demons.
"My mother, the Witch of Izalith, was one of the primeval Lords...
Her power came from the soul that she found near the First Flame.
..She focused the power to light a flame of her own, but she failed to control it.
The Flame of Chaos engulfed Mother and my sisters, and molded them into deformed creatures.
Only I escaped, and now I am here."
So, we know Quelena was the daughter of the Witch of Izalith, who escaped as the Chaos
Flame transformed all of the beings of Izalith into demons.
She is also the mother of Pyromancy, and decided to share her pyromancies with others, spreading
the use of pyromancy throughout Lordran and beyond.
- But why did Quelana run away, and why is she still spreading pyromancy?
How did she escape?
Utilizing the power of the chaos flame, Quelana taught her sisters the art of pyromancy prior
to fleeing, and perhaps before the Witch of Izalith lost control of the chaos fire, thus
casting aside the need for a catalyst.
As they have not shared their chaos flame, we see they have some of the most powerful,
and least diluted spells in the game.
- Another distinct possibility I do want to point out is that it's possible Quelana is
considered the mother of Pyromancy for bringing Pyromancy to all of Lordran, where-as The
Witch of Izalith would be considered the Godmother for creating it and teaching her daughters.
I'm currently leaning towards this, but I've been going back-and-forth.
Ceaseless Discharge is watching over what is presumed to be the grave of his sister.
Shooting him with arrows and attacking him will not permanently agro him, yet he will
only get permanently pissed if you take his beloved sister's clothing.
So, why then are the clothes you find after defeating him described as...
Quelana of Izalith's clothing set?
We've seen minor and non-used characters in the game have their own armor sets, or at
least changed descriptions, yet this is the exact same set we find Quelana wearing after
killing her.
"Have you heard of Lost Quelana?
An inhuman witch, who wanders the Poison Swamp.
Only no one has ever seen her, so who really knows?
But what if she is another of the Quelaag sisters?
Our Fair Lady would be greatly comforted by her presence."
In order to escape, I believe Quelana feigned her own death.
She leaves her gold hemmed cloak, and a grieving family.
"The Witch of Izalith?
...Please, do not speak of her.
...I abandoned my mother and sisters and fled to this land.
... Now I roam these parts, feigning ablution, and pretending to seek answers."
By saying she is feigning ablution, Quelana is essentially telling us that she is pretending
to have washed her hands of the matter, and is pretending that she doesn't know what happened.
It is entirely possible she had a hand in the matter, and creation of the chaos flame.
"I beseech you.
Free Mother and my sisters from the Flame of Chaos.
I cannot do it myself; I lack the strength, and the bravery...
...But you...
I realize what I am asking.
But please, free their pour souls...
Mother's ambitions were misguided, no doubt, but surely a thousand years of atonement is
enough!"
Quelana tells us that her sisters and mother are all in anguish, "The Flame of Chaos engulfed
Mother and my sisters, and molded them into deformed creatures.
Only I escaped, and now I am here.
But my mother and sisters have been in anguish since.", yet the only sister we know to be
in anguish is the Fair Lady... and that's because she drank the blight pus from Eingyi.
In fact, we see who would seem to be Quelana's eldest sister guarding the Bed of Chaos further
on, and she doesn't seem to have any demonic elements to her.
Deciding her family are now abominations, Quelana teaches the art of Pyromancy in order
to train and find someone strong enough to take on her family.
One of Quelana's pyromancy's is "Undead Rapport", which is described as:
"Advanced pyromancy of Quelana of Izalith.
Charm Undead and gain temporary allies.
The living are lured by flame, and this relationship is part and parcel to the art of pyromancy."
She can therefore charm the undead she trains in the ways of Pyromancy into doing her bidding.
She has also now cast some sort of spell on herself, where only the higheset level Pyromancers
can see her.
You must have your Pyromancy flame at +10 to even see her.
Then, only after killing Quelaag, and knowing you are powerful enough, will she request
you defeat the Bed of Chaos.
"Outstanding...
You have done very well."
In an addendum to my Demons video, I speculated that the Bat Wing Demon's could have switched
sides and aided Lord Gwyn in his battle against the demons.
This is pure speculation, but what if Quelana of the Great Swamp also switched sides, and
decided to fight against her mother.
It is very possible that, like Frampt and Kaath, she too is manipulating you.
It would fit right in with her character, considering Undead Rapport.
She tells you that her family is in pain, but the only person we know is in pain is
the Fair Lady.
As mentioned before, one of her sisters who seems perfectly normal is even defending the
bed of chaos!
On the contrary to how Quelana describes her sisters, we actually see them behaving in
a very selfless manner.
"But my dear, Fair Lady!
She cried for me...
And swallowed the great Blightpus, despite Mistress Quelaag's orders to the contrary.""
The Fair Lady drinks from Eingys blightpus in order to save his life, thus poisoning
herself.
Quelaag remains in order to guard and gather humanity for her poisoned sister.
Deeper into Izalith, we see the eldest sister seemingly selflessly guarding the Bed of Chaos.
I believe that Quelana is actually not against the chaos flame at all, as she continues to
teach pyromancy, but rather regards demons as a perversion.
She believes that her mother and sisters have taken their lust for power too far.
Most demon weapons are described as "imbued with no special power, but will merrily beat
foes to a pulp, provided you have the strength to wield it."
Pyromancy, in its essence, reflects this.
"Always fear the flame, I wouldhate to see that happen again."
I believe Quelana viewed this lust for power as reaching too far, and also thinks of herself
as having a role in this.
She then finds and trains powerful undead to send and utilize in her quest to wipe her
family from existence.
In the end, though, she is remorseful.
"Farewell, my mothers, my sisters...
What have you done..."
Alright guys, that wraps up this lore video.
As always, let me know your thoughts and theories in the comments below.
I know this is going against the consensus a little bit, but I think it explains a lot
of her actions.
So -- let me know what you think, and as always -- if you guys continue to enjoy these videos,
I'll keep at it!
Peace!