Hey Guys, I'm Dave Klein, and welcome back to my Dark Souls lore series.
Today we're gonna take a look at the infamous boss duo, Ornstein and Smough.
What do we know about the two guards to the throne, and what can we speculate?
So -- let's begin.
Upon walking into Gwynevere's Throne room, the chosen Undead is greeted by not one, but
two bosses.
Dragonslayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough.
Dragonslayer Ornstein is one of the honored Four Knights of Gwyn.
We know from the Soul of Ornstein that "Special beings have special souls.
Lord Gwyn granted this soul to his four most trusted knights."
He is represented by the Leo, and drops his Leo Ring upon being defeated.
Ornstein was particularly skilled with a lance, and "His lugged spear is said to have sliced
a boulder in two."
Ornstein become one of the honored knights during Gwyn's war with the Dragons.
His Dragonslayer Spear tells us that he is "a Dragonslayer guarding Anor Londo Cathedral.".
His spear "Inflicts lightning damage; effective against dragons.
[His] two-handed thrust relies on [the] cross and buries [the] spear deep within a dragon's
hide, and sends humans flying."
The lightning damage was probably granted to Ornstein by Gwyn himself, as it is Gwyn's
signature attack.
We see several dragon heads in one particular room in Anor Londo, and it is very possible
that these are trophies of Ornstein.
As his spear is always described as being able to "send humans flying", I believe that
Ornstein also fought in the Occult Rebellion, protecting the Gods.
And what is the Occult Rebellion?
According to the Effigy Shield found in the Tomb of Giants, the Effigy shield "Defends
against divine weapons and lightning.
In an ill-fated plot to destroy the very gods, the followers of the occult once attempted
to steal the power of Gravelord Nito, the first of the dead."
-- We see further examples of the Occult locked away in the Painted World of Ariamis, such
as the Dark Ember, so, I believe it would make sense for the Four Knights to have battled
with the occult.
"Ornstein, [] guards the cathedral in the forsaken city of Anor Londo."
I believe guarding the throne room would be considered a high honor, and is something
typically assigned to the best knights -- for what's more important than protecting the
King and his kin?
According to Ornstein's Armor, "Ornstein is believed to be the captain of the Four Knights."
The keyword here is "believed".
Now, there are a couple of takes on this.
It's possible that Ornstein was, indeed, the captain of the Four Knights, and this is why
he guards the throne.
Alternatively, it's speculated that he could have given himself the title of "captain of
the Four Knights", as he is the last surviving of the four, and who's alive to contest his
claim?
Personally, I think he was the captain because of his position of guarding the throne, but
the other theory is definitely a strong possibility that I wanted to point out.
Executioner Smough is an interesting character for he is one of the most morally reprehensible
characters in the service of Gwyn.
We know from the Soul of Smough that he was an "eerily gleeful executioner" and that he
too is a "special being [with] a special soul".
Unlike Ornstien, Smough prefers to use a heavily strength based Great Hammer.
No skill is required to use this, as we see no need for Dexterity, yet a massive amount
of strength.
Along with being known as an "eerily gleeful executioner", we also know from Smough's Hammer
that "Smough loved his work, and ground the bones of his victims into his own feed, ruining
his hopes of being ranked with the Four Knights."
There are a number of interesting things in this description that we can interpret.
The sheer brutality of Smough, and the fact Smough would even eat the remains of his victims,
was too much for him to be accepted into the Four Knights.
And -- yes, this indicates Smough was a cannibal.
Perhaps for his brutality, or perhaps for his cannibalistic nature, it would seem Gwyn
found little honor in these characteristics.
The other interesting detail we receive in this line is that Smough hoped to be accepted
into being ranked with the "Four Knights".
This creates an interesting dynamic between him and the "believed" captain of the Four
Knights.
Another thing we know about Smough, from a design working around, is that he's not fat,
but similar to the Catarina knights, simply has fat and bigger armor.
We also see that, unlike the "Four Knights", Smough has little to-no skill.
He's simply an incredibly powerful being, as his armor is described as: "[offering]
extremely high defense and can be worn by humans, but not without great difficulty."
Another incredibly interesting tidbit we know about Smough, and something reddit user MSPainting
pointed out to me, is that it would seem Kingseeker Frampt doesn't have a very high opinion of
Smough.
When given "special souls", Frampt will give the player a number of Souls in return, as
he sees fit.
If the player consumes Ornstein's soul, he'll receive 12,000 souls.
For giving the soul to Frampt, the player will receive 8,000 souls.
Yet, here's the interesting thing...
For consuming Smough's soul, players will receive 12,000 souls, just like Ornstein.
However, for giving the soul to Frampt, the player will receive 1 measly soul.
Yes, you heard me correctly.
1 singular soul.
But, why is this?
In another interesting tidbit, Smough's armor is also worth next-to-nothing to Frampt.
Well, we know that Frampt worked closely with Gwyn, so it's possible that Frampt shares
Gywn's views on Smough, and was disgusted by Smough's sadistic and cannibalistic nature.
But, at the end of the day, I'm really not sure what the reason is, and I'd love to hear
your thoughts and speculations in the comments below.
So, if Smough is so hated by Gwyn... why is he guarding the throne with a member of the
Four Knights?
I believe Smough was chosen after Gwyn left, and he was probably chosen by either Gwyndolin
or Ornstein to help guard the throne.
As revolting as his nature was to the Gods, that doesn't mean that it doens't have its
uses.
He was useful in being an executioner, and perhaps there was no denying how good it would
be to have such a strong and relentless fighter to help guard the throne.
It could have also even been a selection motivated by necessity.
Smough could have simply been the only being still alive capable of guarding the throne.
And why are they choosing to guard the throne?
As I mentioned earlier, I believe guarding the throne would be considered an incredibly
high honor for its importance.
Therefore, Ornstein, as one of the "Four Knights" continues to do his duty.
Also, I'm sure that Gwyn assigned Ornstein to protect his Kin as well, so it's possible
that Ornstein is simply following Gwyndolin's orders.
As for Smough, he hoped to become one of the "Four Knights", so he probably jumped at the
opportunity.
While the two guard Gwynevere, we come to discover Gwynevere is, in fact, an illusion
created by Gwyndolin.
So, the question arises of if Ornstein & Smough realize they are simply guarding an illusion?
By guarding Gwynevere, who holds the Lordvessel, Ornstein & Smough have essentially become
sacrificial lambs for Gwyndolin, who will have an inevitable death when the chosen Undead
arrives.
I believe Ornstein may know, as his honor would most likely keep him protecting the
throne and family.
Smough, on the other hand, doesn't seem like the type who would honorably hold a position
that could be his end.
So -- I don't really think Smough knows.
What do you guys think?
Let me know in the comments below!
As far as the relationship between the two of them: We see that upon killing Smough,
Ornstein lightly touches him on the chest, in a respectful manner, before absorbing his
powers.
And -- after killing Ornstein, Smough immediately smashes him in, then absorbs his powers.
This indicates Ornstein honored Smough as a powerful fighter, and was generally a more
honorable being than Smough.
I don't know if Smough smashing in Ornstein necessarily indicates jealousy, although it
is possible.
We know that Ornstein enjoyed his work of being an executioner, so he probably simply
enjoyed the act of killing yet another soul.
And as far as their power absorption goes?
Perhaps, just like how an Undead can utilize souls to "Level Up", these bosses can do something
similar with "special souls".
Bare in mind, when you finish the boss fight, you only receive the soul of the final boss
you killed, as opposed to both souls.
We see with bosses such as Seath and The Four Kings, Gwyn grants them fragments of his Lord
Soul making them stronger.
I believe that this is exactly the case with Ornstein & Smough -- Once defeated, they can
take each others "special souls" to become stronger.
On the otherhand, it could simply be the developers throwing in a new "boss fight" gameplay mechanic.
The final thing to address is if Ornstein & Smough are themselves illusions?
There's no way to test this out, as we can only kill Gwynevere, and thusly break Gwyndolin's
illusion, after defeating
Ornstein & Smough.
In my opinion, I don't think so.
The strongest evidence lies in the fact that we get Ornstein & Smough's "special souls"
for defeating them.
I don't believe a mere illusion would have such powerful souls on them.
Alright guys, that wraps up my Ornstein & Smough lore video.
As always, let me know your thoughts and speculations in the comments below.
Why do you think Smough's soul is only worth 1 soul to Kingseeker Frampt?
Thanks for watching, and I'll see you guys next time!
Peace.