What's up guys, I'm Dave Klein, and welcome to my Dark Souls 2 Lore kick off!
What I'm gonna do is talk about what we know so far from the Beta.
We learn a lot about the various kingdoms, and a few key characters, so that's most of
what I'll be talking about, along with some Dark Souls 1 tie backs.
So, let's go ahead and jump right into it.
"My name is Melentia.
You are a stranger to this land?
All we get is strangers this day.
Everybody's gone and run off!
Drangleic's been a pile o' rubble since the war fought long, long ago.
When the Giant's crossed the sea."
There are a number of things we can immediately pick up from this dialogue.
The first being that at least a portion of Dark Souls 2 takes place in the land of Drangleic.
Drangleic was home to King Vendrick, who was known as "a just king.
He gave high-ranking appointments to knights who demonstrated both valor and charity, and
helped lead his country to prosperity."
King Vendrick seems to have lead during a time of war in Drangleic, as everything about
him is tied to fighting.
He would give skilled soldiers the Royal Soldier's Ring, which "were granted to warriors who
distinguished themselves in the service of King Vendrick.
The king favored noble warriors who staked every battle on their strength alone."
While it's not directly tied to King Vendrick, it's also very likely, given what we know
about him, that he also gave specific soldiers the Ring of War, which "Though the ring's
properties are a great boon to warriors, few were happy to accept the ring, as it also
meant the wearer would be sent out to die on the front lines."
Another point is, King Vendrick didn't only utilize melee soldiers, but also had pyromancers
in his army, as the Pyromancy Flame Lash was "Commonly used by the Pyromancer soldiers
of Drangleic, though few truly mastered this pyromancy as its short range requires practiced
maneuvering by the user."
The interesting confliction here is that King Vendrick is said to have lead his country,
that of Drangleic, to prosperity.
Yet, according to Melentia, since the war fought long ago when the Giant's crossed the
sea, Drangleic has been a pile of rubble.
And, it would seem that Drangleic, is indeed a ruin of its former self.
The Huntman's Copse, where the Beta takes place, was where "the Undead hunts during
the reign of the Iron King took place [], and the cells in which the Undead were held still
stand there to this day.
However, the march of time has eroded any difference between the captors and the captives."
But, if not the giants, who then was King Vendrick warring against?
Well, according to the Dragonknight equipment, "Though little is truly known about the order
it is said that their well-honed miracles and unwavering loyalty in the face of death
made Lindeldt worthy rivals to Drangleic in their days."
It would seem our answer lies in Lindeldt.
Lindeldt is home to the Sacred House Osteria, where the Ring of Restoration, "A protective
ring passed down in House Osteria" resides.
"In the sacred land of Lindeldt, it was said that as long as House Osteria held this ring,
the peace and safety of the people would be assured."
...
Yet, your character finds this ring, and if the saying is true, that means at the time
of the game, like Drangleic, Lindeldt too will be destroyed.
Perhaps the Dragonknights and Lindeldt eventually lost their war with Drangleic.
Or perhaps, they too were destroyed with the crossing of the giants.
A land we know for sure has been ruined by the time of Dark Souls 2 is Olaphis.
Olaphis is known for the knowledge of the land, as well as Straid, "brother-in-arms
of the ancient king of old Olaphis.
Together, they slew Ancient Dragon, and tasted omniscience.
However, even the renowned wisdom of Olaphis was not enough to control the peculiar magic
birthed by his arts."
The wisdom of Olaphis was so great, that "Only the lost knowledge of the ruined land of Olaphis
could have enabled the production of [the Dispelling Ring].
The Ring of Resistance, too, was crafted there.
"A fine example of craftsmanship from the lost land of Olaphis, though the techniques
required to reproduce it have since been lost to time.
It is said that many lives were sacrificed in the making of this ring."
Now, I know there's a lot of speculation that Olaphis is Oolacile, and Straid could possibly
be Seath.
The Black Set is described as the set "worn by Straid", so in my mind, the dual-wielding
class represent what Straid probably looked a little like, and at least a humanoid, making
me think he's not Seath.
As far as Olaphis being Oolacile, we know from the Oolacile Catalyst that the "sorceries
of this lost land are gentle and not affected by intelligence."
It seems unlikely to me that a ring in which many lives were sacrificed to create would
have been created there.
Though, that's just my thoughts.
What do you think?
We don't know much about the land of Forossa, asides from that the order of the Lion Knights,
"a once might order [who] wore heavy armor and were feared for their nimble two-handed
swordplay" reside from the land.
Their equipment is blessed by the war god Faraam, indicating they too were a warring
state.
A quick note, is that there seem to be multiple war gods.
The Despatcher Set, worn by Tiny Gren, is "Blessed with the protection of the war God
Nahr Alma."
"Do you give yourself to Nahr Alma?"
"Then you will need blood, lots of it.
Undead blood, like your own."
"Well, what 'dya say?
Join the Brotherhood of Blood?"
Nahr Alma seems like a bloodthirsty God... so what does that say about Faraam?
We know even less of Volgen, except for it does provide some insights into the timeline
of Dark Souls 2.
According to the Red Tearstone Ring, "Tearstones are believed to have originated in ancient
times.
Their rarity and value is such that there are specialist tearstone miners in Volgen."
We know from Dark Souls that the Red Tearstone Ring was found in Carim, where on the flipside,
Blue Tearstone Rings were from Catarina.
So -- it's interesting that Volgen is a place where both rings can be found.
Once again, however, this indicates Dark Souls II takes place after the events of Dark Souls.
The miracle Replenishment tells us "Miracles are tales of the Gods passed down long ago,
but only a small number of the original texts remain in their complete form.
Those in circulation today have been devotedly pieced back together by the clergy."
-- This again indicates during the setting of Dark Souls 2, information has been lost
and diluted over time from Dark Souls 1.
We also receive a few other key tie-backs to Dark Souls 1, that clearly indicate Dark
Souls 2 is a sequel.
The first is a reference to our favorite sunbro.
Lightning Spear is back, and it's described as "[A] miracle [that] came into the possession
of the Melfian clergy through ancient lore.
Little is understood about the source of its power.
Perhaps this miracle belonged to some long-forgotten hero."
-- A clear nod to Solaire, as we receive the Lightning Spear from joining the sunlight
covenant in Dark Souls 1.
Another miracle, War, is described as: "An ancient miracle, said to have been passed
down by an ancient warrior in the service of the Princess of Sunlight before his death."
Indicating a clear reference to Gwynevere.
The next reference we get comes from the pyromancy Great Combustion: "It is unknown who created
the first pyromancy, but ancient pyromancies such as this are being passed on by an unknown
practitioner of the art to this day."
While we can't say who the unknown practitioner still passing on pyromancy is, WE know that
the one who created pyromancy was Quelana!
This, again, indicates Dark Souls II is set ahead of Dark Souls.
Another key note this leads us to, is that pyromancies are in the game... yet they use
catalysts, like the fire sorceries before Pyromancy existed.
It would seem to me that, over time, the art of pyromancy has been somewhat diminished
in its power.
What this also indicates is the chaos flame still exists to some degree, as all pyromancy
is a bi-product of the chaos flame.
We have another notable type of sorcery in the game, and this is in hexes.
It is said that hexes originated as a form of sorcery.
However, they were claimed to pervert the nature of life, and now hexes are forbidden
in MOST countries."
Galio the Hexer is the major purveyor of hexes we find out about, and hexes include Bitter
Mist, Dark Barrier, Dark Burden, and...
Dark Orb.
Dark Orb also being an Abyss sorcery from Dark Souls 1.
"In contrast to standard soul sorceries, Abyss sorceries are weighty and inflict physical
damage.
Perhaps human souls, because of their humanity, produce sorceries with a more tangible presence."
It seems possible, that there's a connection between hexes, the Dark, Humanity, and possibly
the Abyss.
A final fun reference to Dark Souls 1 lies in the Hunter's Hat, which is described as
"Favored by hunters skilled with a bow, this hat was based on the one worn by a folkloric
master archer whose name is now lost in time."
-- This seems to be referencing Pharis from Dark Souls 1.
"Pharis was an accomplished archer, and though he was human, he ranked alongside Hawkeye
Gough.
His hat is universally popular among children."
Some other food for thought for you guys: Drangleic is not Lordran, we know this from
developer interviews.
However, do you think Drangleic is one of the known lands from Dark Souls with a different
name, or do you think it's somewhere entirely new?
We see a few potential ties to Berenike, one in the guard to the Chariot Boss's chamber,
and another in the Imperial Shield which can be found, that looks stylized to Berenike:
"A certain man's favorite greatshield.
Forged by layering thin sheets of iron, it provides excellent defense for its weight.
Perhaps you'll learn more about the original owner when next you meet..."
An Iron King resides here, and we know of a certain "Black Iron Tarkus" who was from
Berenike as well...
On the other hand, we find some statues holding justice scales, which is very reminiscent
of Velka -- the Goddess of Sin who judged the guilty and mete out justice - so perhaps
a Carim connection?
What do you guys think of Drangleic?
Alright guys, that's gonna wrap up this Dark Souls 2 kick off lore video.
There are a few other interesting characters mentioned such as "The Pursuer", but at this
point, there's really not enough to go off of yet.
Hopefully this serves as a nice guide to some of the kingdoms we'll be hearing about in
Dark Souls 2, and a nice preview to the lore.
If you guys want to hear my predictions based off of the interviews from E3, you can go
ahead and click on the link provided here and in the description.
And, as always, I'd love to hear your theories, and what you guys think based off of the various
trailers, E3, and the Beta.
See ya next time, peace!