"Ah, our lord and liege. Twas the soul of my sister."
Of the three sisters who founded the sable church,
Elfriede was the eldest and their leader.
Together, with the hollows of Londor, they fought to usurp the first flame for Hollow kind.
And you, of course, were a part of that in one of the endings.
But before you came along, it appears that there was another who tried to usurp the flame, but failed.
"Alfriede, a poor wench turned to ash, who would abandon Londor."
Unkindled ash, in Miyazaki's own words, are Undead who failed to link the flame.
And in the opening cutscene I personally think that we see the soul of cinder dragging and cremating one of those failures.
One of those undead that failed to take him on and turned into ash.
And these are failures that can rise again when the link of fire is threatened.
Failures like Elfriede. Failures like you.
After her failure, Elfriede truly distanced herself from the church.
Don't forget- we know that you need to be very forlorn to find this painted world.
So it's possible that she found this place in her despair.
And when she arrived she didn't sit meekly by like so many other creatures in this place.
No, instead she decided that this was a world and a people that she wished to protect.
For this world really is a reflection of the outside and, as a result,
it was a chance for her to take a truly different path.
On the outside, the fire fades and a great sacrifice triggers the rebirth of this world.
And on the inside in the painting, the painting falls to rot.
And it's residents set it aflame to put an end to the rot.
Painting a new world for themselves just after this happens.
Both places have a cycle of rebirth and on the outside
Elfriede died attempting to break that cycle and usurp the flame.
And after her failure she fights for the exact opposite fate within the painting.
She renounced everything and she fights to keep things the way they are now.
To embrace the rot, the stagnation, the stasis.
To force her version of kindness upon the residents of the painting.
"How this came to pass, I know not."
"But take heed: kindness can wear upon one's principles."
And beyond the gate, which looks like it was broken inwards
as if someone forced their way in, is father Ariandel, restorer of the painted world.
Or what's become of him, anyway.
"I see flame. Flame, fluttering once again."
"Not enough blood yet shed."
"My flail. Bring me my flail."
The birdlike corvians refer to him fondly as "the good Father" which belies
a close relationship between the two of them.
I have a feeling they don't think he can do any wrong, because they say this:
"But that witch fooled the good father and buried the flame. After we had all made up our minds, too."
That witch 'fooled' the good father. On the other hand,
Friede's soul says that, together, with the good Father, they chose rot over flame.
So did Ariandel betray the world he painted? Or was he bewitched as the corvians would like to believe.
And so began this terrible partnership.
Friede watches over the Father who, strapped to his chair, flails himself to produce blood to protect their secret.
And the secret is the flame that they buried.
After all, Ariandel knew that their world was painted with blood.
And he knew that only blood could appease the flame.
It's rather the same on the outside as well.
Ours is the blood that keeps the fire alive.
It's our sacrifice, and I think they're trying to make a point here about that.
Just outside, Friede sits. Waiting, guarding.
"Lord of hollows. I know not the missteps which led thee to this painted world.
"But thy duty is all. And thy duty lieth elsewhere."
"Sweep all thought of us from thy mind. As thy kind always have."
It is said that when the ashes are two the flame will alight.
So Friede and Wilhelm: they want you gone.
Because they're hopeful that they can avoid conflict between the two ashes.
For conflict could easily prove their prophecy right and rouse the withering flame.
Wilhelm stands further out, and he's likely
the person that Yuria says stood by Elfriede until the end,
in the shadows cast by fire.
"You look to be unkindled. No bell tolls, and yet you've slipped into the painting."
In the outside, the Firelink bell tolls when the link of fire is threatened
and it awakens the unkindled from their graves.
Here, too, it seems that a bell is supposed to draw unkindled into the painting.
Or it would, if it wasn't buried in the snow here.
I'd say that Wilhelm and Elfriede have something to do with it.
"You're Lady Yuria's Lord of Hollows. Lady Friede has spoken, has she not?"
"Then tarry no longer and begone. Carry on, for Lady Yuria and for Londor."
So Wilhelm, renowned as a cold blooded hangman, once served the three sisters of the Sable Church.
He was, however, particularly loyal to the eldest.
And yet, the time came when Elfriede bode him farewell.
She gave him the onyx blade, this black, twisted sword that could enwreathe itself with black flame.
Which is the flame that smolders within Elfriede.
It is a weapon that is very personal to her and this gift says a lot.
Most curiously though, the item description says that this sword was
a farewell gift, the acceptance of which signified Wilhelm's resignation from Elfriede's service.
And that's weird because in the painting it seems as if he's still in her service, right?
So I take this line to mean that he was relieved of service to Elfriede's Sable Church
not to Elfriede in particular.
But even after she failed to usurp the flame
if that is indeed what happened
he remains loyal.
So loyal, that even Yuria asks us to remember his name.
So loyal, that he would guard the white-haired woman with his life
and defend her against all intruders.
"I've seen your kind. Time and time again."
"Every fleeing man must be caught. Every secret must be unearthed."
"Such is the conceit of the self-proclaimed seeker of truth."
"But in the end, you lack the stomach for the agony that you'll bring upon yourself."
Let's talk about Friede's boss fight.
The boss fights in Souls that feature resurrection: I reckon they're the most fitting in the series
since our character has that ability to come back and kill them
multiple times, so why can't they do that, too?
Lorian and Lothric, the Abyss Watchers, and now, Friede,
who is resurrected twice by the fire.
And the second time, when the father falls, he utters:
"When the ashes are two, a flame alighteth".
Notice, this line is in quotation marks.
As he appears to be quoting the tale that everyone in this painting repeats multiple times.
"When the ashes are two, a flame alighteth".
And, as Friede is resurrected by the flame:
"Thou'rt Ash, and fire befits thee, of course".
I think, and maybe this is obvious, but
I think that Father Ariandel interprets this tale or prophecy
as meaning: "when the ashes are two, the black flame
within Friede shows itself".
Because he'd much rather interpret it that way than the alternative
which is to say that he'd rather Friede alight than his world be set aflame.
Of course, Friede really is destined to fall to us in the end.
And that's it.
We've met two founders of the Sable Church now.
We've met Elfriede, the eldest, who lost herself in the painting.
We've met Yuria, in search of her true lord of hollows.
And we've yet to meet the youngest sister, Lillian.
Assumedly this could be her, in the final cutscene, right?
Do you reckon we'll go to Londor?
It seems logical because the usurping of the fire, that ending,
is one of the rare times an ending has felt like the series is progressing.
And, with most of our questions related to the nature of hollowing and the origins of the undead curse,
I could really see Londor holding some answers
but I've definitely been wrong in my DLC predictions before so
let's just wait and see. I'm going to be a bit more conservative with some of my assumptions.
So, I'll see you next time. Merry Christmas, guys.