Corvian: "When the world rots, we set it to fire"
"for the sake of the next world."
"It's the one thing we do right"
"Unlike those fools on the outside"
(Chuckling)
(Vaati) The Painted World is an allegory for the outside.
It's a mirror we hold up, to reveal the truth.
Even if things are a little backwards.
Think of what this Corvian just said.
(Vaati) "When the world rots, we set it afire..
for the sake of the next world"
A parallel to this is linking the fire at the end of the game
Which is very similar in concept to the fire that burns down the painting
The Linking of the Fire chases away the darkness just like the fire of Ariandel burns away the rot
Both worlds have this tradition
of setting themselves aflame, to rekindle a cycle of rebirth.
However, consider this next line.
The Corvian also say's (Vaati) "It's the one thing we do right"
"Unlike those fools on the outside"
And that's strange right?
Because last I checked, those fools on the outside they loved linking the fire.
They have an entire kingdom devoted to it.
So, why is this Corvian saying that they don't do it right in the outside world?
That doesn't really match up.
If these parallels are correct, then surely they are doing it right.
Let's try again.
Perhaps rot isn't the parallel to darkness.
It could make more sense, instead, for rot to be representative of the never-ending cycle of light and dark.
Representative of stagnation.
And in this comparison, the Father bleeds to satiate the flame.
Just like the Unkindled is sacrificed to satiate the flame on the outside.
And at the end, a new Painting is created.
But this time, it's created with the Dark Soul of Man as the Pigment
Just like the first flame can be usurped by the Dark Soul of Man
Finally allowing the world to progress to the next stage
I like this set of parallels a little bit more, don't you?
Corvian: "I am so terribly frightened of timidly rotting away"
"Like those..."
"like those fools on the outside"
Those on the outside can be drawn into the painting and
Despair is the one thing they all have in common
One such example is the first Corvian we meet upon our arrival
Corvian: "We've all seen terrible things"
"But you're safe now"
"Let it ease your burden"
"Ariandel will make a fine home for you"
"So, go on ahead"
"Find one for yourself"
"A sweetly rotting bed to lie upon"
(Vaati): There are three types of Corvian we talk about in this video
There's the humanoid ones that look a lot like Father Ariandel
There's the Corvian Knights and there's the Crawling Corvians, both of which look much more crow-like
But the name "Corvian" is probably derived from the Latin word "corvus"
which means "crow" and these black feathers are what they all have in common
We get no real clue as to the origins of the humanoid Corvians
Though, they always reminded me of this quote by Nakamura in the Dark Souls I design works
where he talks about the Crows of Velka
So this developer says about the other Crows
he says: "I like to think that they were humans who wanted to fly so badly"
"that they sprouted wings but rather than their skeletons evolving over time"
"they instead twisted their limbs into unnatural positions, forcing their bodies into a bird-like shape"
and that's how I've always imagined them
It really reminded me of the contortions they pull to grow wings
These humanoids Corvians, they're described as having bodies, souls and weapons
that are tainted, through and through
Wretched beings with no place to go
So it makes sense that they'd find their way into the Painted World
and they rejoice upon finding a new home here
What sets them apart, though, is that these are the only creatures that listen to tales of the Painted World
told on the outside by their Storytellers
We know that Forlorn can be pulled into the Painted World
And we've talked about two cases of that already
And we know it's possible for some beings inside to leave also
So are these Corvians how the rot got into the Painting?
Or are they how the rot gets out?
Is there a deeper meaning to their Storytellers
who go out into the world and guide more Corvians into the Painting
by telling stories of the Painted World?
There's a few theories that could spawn from this, maybe
But, one thing is certain
They worship their Mistress of the Painted World
Friede, the first Ash to enter the Painting
and they're not the only ones
This is a Corvian Knight, a killing machine that is functionally identical to those Crows of Velka that you saw in Dark Souls I's Painted World
And the only piece of information that we have about those Crows of Velka
is a little excerpt from the design works of Dark Souls I
In a response to a question about the Crow Demons
Miyazaki says: "I always thought of the Painted World as somewhere where things go to escape"
"and the Bird Men are no different"
"They were originally designed as worshipers of the Goddess Velka"
"whose bodies were warped by their devotion"
I think this obsession makes them really interesting characters
So from the very beginning, these creatures were envisioned as having bodies warped by devotion
And it's impossible to know if Miyazaki still thinks of them as worshipers of Velka
But at the very least, we know that he, at some level, thinks of Velka as related to crows
and in this Painted World, the devotion of these crow-like figures is directed at another female deific form
Friede
Their weapons tell us that in their infatuation with Sister Friede
the Corvian Knights swore to protect the Painting from fire
And to this end, took to the execution of their own brethren
You saw their brethren before, they were the crows that were barely alive and they were crawling through the mud
Rotting, wandering and kept in perpetual terror by the stronger members of their former family
And it's one of the few sane members of these sad crows who tells us what happened here
Corvian: "Ohh...oh, finally"
"You have come"
"Oh wonderous ash"
"Grant us our wish"
"Make the tales true"
"and burn this world away"
"My lady must see flame"
"and you have only to show her"
"You are Ash, are you not?"
"Is it not fire that you seek?"
"Surely you've seen the rot that afflicts our world"
"But that witch fooled the good Father"
"and buried the flame"
"After we had all made up our minds, too"
(Vaati) We can learn a lot from these little pieces of dialogue
First, this one:
Corvian: "Surely you've seen the rot that afflicts our world"
"But that witch fooled the good Father"
"and buried the flame"
"After we had all made up our minds, too"
(Vaati) So this tells us that the Corvians made the decision to burn down their world for the sake of the next Painting to come
This shows that they're very aware of the nature of their own world
and they were rather central to the decision making here
Even on decent terms with the "good Father", as they call him
They blame the witch Friede for fooling Father Ariandel into burying the flame
But another item description says that Father Ariandel and Friede chose rot over fire together
So maybe she didn't fool him as much as the Corvians would like to believe
The second interesting thing is this line of dialogue:
Corvian: "Make the tales true"
"and burn this world away"
(Vaati) This line made me wonder
Who tells the tales in this world?
Storytelling is obviously a big thing
We learnt that from the Storyteller Corvians in the outside world
But personally, I imagine these stories coming from Father Ariandel himself
And my main bit of evidence for that is when he says:
Father Ariandel: "When the ashes are two, a flame alighteth"
(Vaati) Notice how there's quotation marks around this phrase and shortly afterwards he says:
Father Ariandel: "Thou'rt Ash, and fire befits thee, of course..."
(Vaati) and the quotation marks are gone
So, here, in phase three of Friede's boss fight
I believe that Ariandel is interpreting the tale the way he wants to
He's saying that Friede's black flame is the flame alighting when the ashes are two
instead of the world burning down when the ashes are two
So maybe he didn't come up with the tales but the tales go as far back as Father Ariandel
who was the creator of this world
And lastly:
"My lady must see flame"
"and you have only to show her"
The painter that we've taken to calling Aria is known to the Corvians
and clearly they know her as the girl who will usher in the next world, born of what happens here
So it makes sense then, that Friede would hide her away
It makes sense that we would talk about her next
So subscribe and I'll see you in the next one