If you follow me on this page, you will probably know me for my analysis on Pokémon narrative. Despite my obvious interest for Satoshi Tajiri’s franchise, it may be a surprise for someone to learn these are not my favorite games. From Software titles, especially under the direction of Hidetaka Miyazaki, hold a special place in my heart, and the meticulously crafted worlds they created sedimented my love in the medium’s storytelling in general.
That being said, this is not the first of a series of articles. The reason I started my journey through the world of Pocket Monsters’ hidden secrets was to fill a void: as far as I could’ve seen, no one on the internet had examined the lore taking in account the differences between the localized and the original version. This isn’t true for From Software games: from Lokey’s blog to Last Protagonist brilliant breakthroughs, from Aruki Mania outstanding cover of Bloodborne original script to the in-depth analysis of Shetani’s Lair on the cultural inspirations of Sekiro, up to the many Youtube channels taking into account the insidious topic of localization — AesirAesthetics, illusory wall, and SmoughtTown are just the ones I’m more familiar with — and this is not to mention the precious insights we can learn from the development process brought to light by creators like Lance McDonald, Zullie the Witch, and Sekiro Dubi among the others. In short, there’s tons of food for thought if you want to learn more of these worlds, even as an English speaker. The Italian community may have learned a lot from the work of Sabaku no Maiku, and I’m sure other linguistic niches have their own lore hunters too.
Is this article really required then? Honestly, not really. If you really want to learn about all the possible interpretations with the benefit of the Japanese script, you definitely can with the information currently shared on the internet. However, it can be a pretty tedious task to unravel the intricate web of narrative relationships — especially considering not every creator has a full analysis on everything yet. So I told myself: why not adding another layer of confusion?
In this article we will try to explore the mysteries of Gwyn’s family, arguably the most important clan in the history of the Dark Souls trilogy. I decided to start from here as I noticed this is one of the most disputed aspects of the whole franchise, and up to now a part of the community is so convinced of some assumptions, some possibilities are not even taken in account most of the times. Notice this is far to be a definitive guide on the matter: even with the help of the Japanese text, From Software storytelling remains purposefully ambiguous. The point is to theorize and try to come up with compelling scenarios in a universe full of unspoken mysteries, but I also believe we can arrive to realistic interpretations if we take in account everything the games present us with a methodological approach. But enough with the preambles, let’s start!
First of the Gods
Dark Souls opening sequence is simple at a first glance. The world is originally immovable and grey, then the First Flame lit and brought the concept of Disparity — and with it, all other concepts. Things started to move, life and death arose, as well as light and darkness. Then from darkness “they came”, humanoid creatures lured by the heat of the First Flame. In there they found the Lord Souls, and an immense power was to them bestowed. It was such strength that allowed civilizations to rise, and Gwyn was arguably the main actor in this regard. With his newfound Soul he claimed the title of Lord of Sunlight [太陽 の光の王, King of the Sun’s Light], moved war against the Ancient Dragons that ruled the world since the dawn of times, and upon his victory declared the start of the Age of Fire.
With the narrative immediately presented, it’s easy to assume Gwyn was one of the first humanoid beings to arose from the “dark”; in reality, the opening sequence likely speeds up the events to a point of being easily misunderstood. For instance, isn’t it odd that the Lord of Sunlight is depicted from the very beginning in mighty and shiny armor accompanied by an army of knights? Even if this is meant to be successive to the retrieve of the Lord Soul, it is still undeniably before the war against the Ancient Dragons, still deep below the underground where they firstly arose.
Metallurgy was, in other words, advanced enough for weapons, armors and crowns to be crafted at the time. A primitive form of civilization was already starting to develop before the Lord Souls were retrieved, and this is also confirmed by the daughter of Izalith wearing their robes well before the Age of Fire [Gold-Hemmed Black set]. It is important to recontextualize this crucial bit of the narrative before going forward: despite their depiction in the cinematic, “they” who came from the dark weren’t mindless Hollows. The reason many tend to assume this is mostly due to a clunky translation of the term.
The word used in the original script to refer to Hollow is 亡者 [mouja]. This refers specifically to “the dead”, with the connotation of walking corpses or sometimes ghosts — in short, people who are able to move after death in some form. Nowhere in the whole trilogy is implied a Hollow must be “hollow” in the sense of lacking souls — even if many do seek them as they lose them upon death, it’s a consequence more than cause. Indeed, we can easily stack up humanities and a stupid number of white souls in our Hollow form without experiencing any apparent change.
We will not explore in this article the true nature of the Hollows and of the Undead Curse, but sticking to the terms we can simply conclude that in order to be Hollow, those primordial beings should’ve died and come back from the dead. We have no reason to think this was the case. It should be even doubted the notion they didn’t possess a soul to begin with: as the many consumable souls we find reveal in their description, a soul is “the source of all life”, meaning you can’t be considered alive without a proper soul.
So, were “they” to be considered alive? Most likely, yes. In original they are addressed as 幾匹, with 匹 being a counter used to refer to small animals. What this establishes is “they” were nothing more than anthropomorphic beasts, animals who were lurked to the flame and happened to find a source of power that would have allowed them to make the jump to more complex branches of the evolutionary tree. In the time between their first appearance and the retrieving of the Lord Souls, these primitives possibly learned how to use basic tools and how to sew clothes; with the new power of souls in their hands we can expect an explosion in their technological development, reaching up the point of smithing weapons. This may even suggest conflicts occurred in the underground before the surface was took over. All this obviously requires to be alive, and they were as such as every other creature belonging to the animal kingdom. They had their own souls to begin with.
Like any other animal, they also had to reproduce. Indeed, Gwyn is later revealed to not be the first of his clan: the Lord of Sunlight had a family, and while we don’t know anything about his parents, his uncle Lloyd is mentioned since the first game.
The status of Lloyd as Gwyn’s uncle is firstly confirmed in the description of the White Seance Ring, and while we never meet the man in person — we don’t even have a depiction beside the blurred iconography on the Gold Coin — he is crucial to the world we move in. As the ring and multiple other items states, at the time of the first game he bears the title of Allfather [主神, “chief god”], the most prominent god in charge going by the original name. Once more going by the ring description, the Allfather is the highest authority of the Way of White, the predominant religion in the world of men — considering “gwyn” is the Welsh word for “white”, you can guess where it took its name from. We don’t know if he took the title after Gwyn sacrificed himself to link the First Flame, or if the cult altogether was only formally established after the Lord’s demise. What is sure is Lloyd managed to become the most important of gods, and you could argue this is fitting for someone so ancient.
グウィン王の叔父、主神ロイドの使徒である
白教の高司祭に与えられる聖なる指輪
魔法の記憶スロットを増やす効果がある
A sacred ring given to the High Priest of the Way of White, an apostle of the Allfather Lloyd, uncle of King Gwyn. Has the effect of increasing magic memory slots.
白教の高司祭は、法と階級の守護者であり
偉大なるソルロンドの貴族でもある
The High Priest of the Way of White is the guardian of laws and social hierarchy, and also a noble from the great Thorolund.
Considering coins aren’t used in the land of Lordran [Gold Coin et others] and the Allfather is depicted in one of them, the reason we never encounter him is likely because he moved in the world of men. The White Seance Ring description also claims the High Priest [高司祭] of the Way of White is chosen among the nobility of Thorolund, not from “royalty” like the English claims, and a city with the name of ソルロンド [Sol Londo] — in an obvious parallel to Anor Londo, the city were the gods originally resided — would only be fitting to be the new residence of the chief god.
Rays of the Sun
With the power of a Lord Soul, Gwyn became a being so powerful he entrusted himself the right to be called “god”. The terminology can easily cause confusion, because despite the status seems to be hereditary and other gods like Velka and McLoyf exists without being necessarily related to the royal family, not everyone belonging to Gwyn’s race can claim divinity. The Silver Knights, for example, are never addressed among the gods remained in Anor Londo after the exodus, despite their copious presence here. They can’t be humans either, as their involvement in the war against the Ancient Dragons is a well-known matter — while human contributions were erased from the records [Dragonhead Shield].
Put it simply, there is a difference between the unnamed race that stemmed from Gwyn and his Lord Soul, and the status of “god”. Indeed, Dark Souls II will introduce so-called gods not belonging to this race, spanning from humans like Evlana to sacred plants like Quella. Even in the first game the original description of White Dragon Breath addresses Seath as 神のごとき古竜 [god-like Ancient Dragon]: all that it takes to be a god, is to be revered as such. Of course, this came with benefits in the moment the chief of those self-proclaimed gods had access to an immense source of strength: both Gwyn and his children are seemingly immune to aging, and Lloyd benefits of the same longevity too. If the power of the Lord Soul could be bestowed retroactively, then maybe we never knew of Gwyn’s parents because they simply perished well before the great discovery.
A lot more is told about the Lord of Sunlight’s children. The narrative is here pretty straight-forward regarding blood relationships, and it won’t require huge logical steps from what is normally accepted in the canon. There is, however, a plot that need to be recontextualized regarding the personal story of one of the royals, with the help of the original text. Let’s discuss the Firstborn.
Gwyn’s first child was only a mentioned character in the original game. Once a god of war, at one point he was casted away for his own foolishness, stripped of his deific status and even of his own name, erased from all the records. Despite localization claims this was because he lost “the annals”, this is completely made up. The reason for the banishment is never spoken in the description of the Ring of the Sun’s Firstborn:
太陽の長子はかつて戦神であったが
その愚かさにより、すべての記録と共に神を追われ
いまやその名前すら伝わっていない
The Firstborn of the Sun was once a god of war, but due to his foolishness he was casted out along with all the records. Even his name is no longer passed on.
The assumption most of the community accepted is the Firstborn was banished by his father. Who else, in not the main political authority in Anor Londo? Indeed, Dark Souls III seems at first to reinforce this idea introducing the character of the Nameless King. The unnamed monarch and the Firstborn are one and the same, as betrayed by its former status of war god [Soul of the Nameless King] and the crown modeled after that of the Lord of Sunlight [Golden Crown].
The description of his soul reveals he was once a dragon slayer, but he eventually sacrificed everything to ally with Ancient Dragons. The narrative was then apparently easy to read: the god of war betrayed his kin, siding with the enemies of his own clan and leading to his banishment. Truth is, things are a bit more complex than that. For instance, we should notice the exile has to be successive to the end of the war. While it’s possible the gods were already setting facilities on the surface before and during the conflict, it would be a stretch to think the pompous architectures of Anor Londo were built in the middle of a warfare. And since a statue of the first heir was evidently present at Gwyn’s right side, only to be later removed, we have to conclude this figure was still around at the time the capital reached its modern layout.
After all, for a covenant like the Warriors of Sunlight dedicated to the worship of the god of war to exist in the first place, even with a now broken dedicated statue in the Undead Burg, the Firstborn had to establish relationships with humans. The alliance with the Ancient Dragons, then, must be successive to the war. But would Gwyn even be against a collaboration with the reptilian survivors, considering he bestowed dukedom to Seath and raised Midir as his own soldier [Soul of Darkeater Midir]? In reality, the Lord of Sunlight was never responsible of his son exile. In Kaathe words:
世界の理を恐れた
だから奴は、火を継ぎ、自らの息子たちに、人を率い、縛らせた
“[Gwyn] was afraid of the logic of the world. And so, he inherited the Flame, and made his sons lead and bind the humans.”
Contrary to the localization claiming Gwyn ordered his “children” to lead the humans after he sacrificed himself to the Flame, the original text makes clear the command was for his 息子たち [“sons”, specifically plural male children]. As we don’t know of the existence of a third son beyond the Firstborn and Gwyndolin, we have to conclude the former was still around when the Lord of Sunlight met his demise. This is why he was able to left a miracle in the father’s symbolic coffin in Anor Londo as a final farewell [Sunlight Blade], as well as why he “inherited” the light of the sun [Great Lightning Spear], 継いた denoting the act of succeeding someone else in a certain position. And that’s also why he is the Nameless King, bearing a crown much alike that of his father: after the Firelink, the Firstborn became the second monarch of Anor Londo.
These revelations help to explain a couple of inconsistencies regarding the timeline of Oolacile. While Gwyn’s Firelink occurred at least a thousand years prior to the events of the first game [Frampt: “You have retrieved the Lordvessel! After a thousand years! It is you, it is really you!”], the events of Artorias of the Abyss take place between three and two hundred years in the past according to the developers. In other words, Gwyn was out of the picture for at least seven centuries when we visit Dusk’s hometown. Yet, Ciaran still introduces herself as a member of the Lord’s Blades [王の刃, King’s Blade], and remarkably addresses her current master as 王 [king], opposed to the 大王 [great king] used by Gough to refer to Gwyn specifically. The Nameless King reign ended well after the first lord demise: he was around until just a couple of centuries before the current era!
The context behind his alliance with Ancient Dragons are then to heavily rethink in a new light. The two factions weren’t at war at the time, the gods had long imposed their domain on the world. Maybe, after befriending the King of the Storm, the Firstborn started to feel regret over the cleansing he too played a role in? What is sure is that he eventually embraced the path to dragons, and this new course in his politics clearly wasn’t well received. Tainting the pure blood of the gods with filthy reptiles wasn’t a behavior acceptable from a king, and the once god of war couldn’t but abandon his name and retire in a far mountain peak. If he wanted, he could’ve probably moved weapons against the growing opposition, but a civil war was evidently not what he wanted for his own kingdom.
Localization was more merciful with the other children. Gwynevere is addressed as the eldest daughter of Gwyn [Sun Princess Ring], establishing her as the second child after the Firstborn. The Goddess of Sunlight was cherished as a bringer of bounty and fertility [Divine Blessing] and granted her blessing to many great warriors [Soothing/Bountiful Sunlight]. We will return later to her personal story, as it heavily intertwines with other branches of the family tree.
For Gwynevere to be the “eldest” among the daughters, at least a younger one is required. Dark Souls III introduces the character of Filianore. With a name literally meaning “daughter of the sun”, it comes to no surprise this is yet another child of Gwyn. More specifically, she is the “youngest daughter” [末娘] according to the description of the Small Envoy Banner. The description briefly sums up her story: Gwyn gifted those who retrieved the Dark Soul with the Ringed City and Filianore, promising to the beloved daughter he would one day come back to rescue her. He never did, considering the princess still sleeps in the city of men embracing her mysterious egg.
Her isolation is ultimately why we never hear of the secret child up until the third chapter, where we can visit her in person. The “gift” was evidently made well before Anor Londo reached its current architectural design, as no statues of Filianore can be found in the capital. With the absence of miracles speaking of the princess, she really didn’t have time to leave a mark on the outside world before disappearing at the world’s end forever.
Speaking of untold stories, there’s one character suspiciously missing from the records. Who is the mother of all these children? The Queen of Lordran is never mentioned in the games, nor has any evident depiction anywhere in Anor Londo or in other places of worship. There could be only one exception. Undead Parish was once a consecrated place of worship. On one side, we can find the broken sculpture of the Firstborn where members of his covenant can still pray to these days; on the other, a statue of a woman carrying a child with a sword in their hands.
Official concept arts address this figure as 祭壇の女神像 [statue of the goddess of the altar], confirming she represents someone with divine status. Noticing she has a small crown on her head, this is most likely a scene representing one of Gwyn’s children in the hands of their mother — cut content reinforces the notion, as many of these statues were once present in Anor Londo. The sword may link it to the god of war, but wouldn’t be it redundant with his altar being placed nearby? Moreover, why wasn’t this statue broken down after the banishment if it represents the Firstborn? More plausibly, this is Gwynevere: animals and vegetations are depicted on the statue’s side, fitting for a goddess of abundance, and while she didn’t take part in armed conflicts directly, we also noticed how she bestowed her blessing to warriors ready to the battlefield. Maybe this is where her miracles were imparted.
The main question still goes unanswered, and it’ll forever be: we don’t know what the ultimate fate of the queen was. Since she’s so absent from Anor Londo, we can infer she disappeared quite early in the timeline, maybe not much after Filianore’s departure. She surely didn’t die of old age, with characters like Lloyd still walking in the streets after thousands of years. Then she either left for unknown reasons, or was killed by someone. In the first game there are multiple items referencing various plots against the gods and mysterious sins committed by certain clans [Effigy Shield, Symbol of Avarice]. Maybe the queen lost her life in one of those attempted coups. What is sure, is that Gwyn never wanted to remember her spouse with grandiose honors. It was a matter better left unspoken.
The Pale Wedlock
Looking at the original description for “his” soul, Seath became a “gaiseki” [外戚] to Gwyn’s clan. What does this mean? This word has its roots in China, where it was specifically used to address people who joined the emperor’s family as related to either his mother or his wife.
シースはグウィン王に与して古竜を裏切り
後に公爵として王の外戚となったとき
その偉大なるソウルを分け与えられた
Seath betrayed the Ancient Dragons by siding with King Gwyn.
When he later became a gaiseki of the King as a Duke, he was bestowed with his great soul.
In the purest sense, this would mean Seath shares blood with either Gwyn’s mother — and our Lord of Sunlight doesn’t really strike as draconian kin — or with his wife. While we will make the case for a relationship between the Lord and Priscilla, her status of official concubine seems a bit of a stretch in the moment she was considered an abomination worth to lock away in a secret prison. But what’s the truth then?
As a matter of fact, Miyazaki seems to use the term more loosely. The definition restricts the relatives to the maternal lineage, but Elden Ring addresses as 外戚 the children Radagon had with Rennala, after the man joined Marika in his second marriage. While more unorthodox, reading the kanji as separate makes it possible to render 外戚 as “outside relative” — unshackling it from the limitations of the original interpretation and making the usage coherent with what shown in Elden Ring. Seath, in all likelihood, also became an “outside relative” to Gwyn’s family, without sharing a particular blood relation with the Queen.
The options, then, are two: the White Dragon was either adopted by Gwyn, or joined the clan through an arranged marriage. We’ll see in short how the original text gives a pretty strong hint the Dragon was married at some point, and erasing entirely the connotation of the word of a wedlock with political benefits would diverge too much from the original meaning. So, we’ll use the latter as the preferred interpretation.
With Filianore out of the picture, Gwynevere would be the only candidate we know of in the King’s family for marrying the Dragon. Connections between Seath and the Princess of Sunlight are present in the first game, as we see with the pisaca being experimented by the mad reptile. These enemies are more properly スキュラ [scylla], a clear nod to the sea monster in Greek mythology — particularly fitting considering their mollusk appearance. The description of the Archive Tower Giant Cell Key confirms the cage it opens once imprisoned those 聖女 [saints, holy women], humans evidently mutated due to the duke’s experiments considering they do drop Humanities.
Among the swarm of monsters, two pisaca remains cornered in their room without displaying any hostile behavior. Upon their death, they drop Soothing Sunlight and Bountiful Sunlight respectively, two miracles told to “saints serving Gwynevere” [using the same kanji 聖女]. The pisaca were originally the religious maidens of the Princess of Sunlight, and Seath showed a particular interest to treat those subjects specifically. Whether it was because they were easier to approach without retaliation, or out of spite after his spouse left him, the religious heritage of Gwynevere is no more.
Cut content reinforces the general idea. Data for an unused “Gwynevere’s Talisman” have been found by dataminers, its model still present in the files. The appearance is peculiar to say the least, what appears to be a tooth or a rock of some sort wrapped up in strings. Curiously, the description for the scrapped item only reads “Ancient Dragon Talisman”, strongly suggesting where the implement comes from. Considering the princess has no evident relation to other draconians, this could’ve been a marriage gift from Seath — who knows, maybe the traitor took the tooth himself from one of his former companions.
Dark Souls III strengthens the notion even more, and not just by parallels with the Queen of Lothric marrying yet another White Dragon. In the Ringed City we met the character of Shira, and when it comes to our final confrontation, she introduces herself as a descendant of the gods, and as the daughter of the duke.
私も神の末、公爵の娘、シラ。
“I am Shira, descendant of the god(s), daughter of the duke.”
Clearly the “duke” here mentioned must be Seath, and not just because this title is almost exclusively given to the White Dragon during the trilogy. Contrary to the model in-game, the concept shows her hair were originally supposed to be pale white, even her name having roots in the word 白 [“shiro”, white]. The small pearl in the center of her tiara, possibly a nod to the clams placed right before Seath’s boss-room in the first game, completes the picture: she is a dragon crossbreed. Then, the “gods” heritage must come from her mother, namely Gwynevere — developers have evidently changed their mind in the hair color, with the brown in the final product more reminiscent of the other parent.
The word Shira uses to establish her relation with the royal family is 末, that while can be used to refer to a general “descendant” or “progeny” has also the connotation of “last shoot”, “end”, or simply “youngest child”; while this isn’t clearly the case, it could suggest the warrior perceives herself as one of the last branches of the gods’ clan. If so, she was likely sent to guard Filianore in the Ringed City very early in the Age of Fire, mostly unaware of the more recent developments in the outside world.
If the arranged marriage was apparently giving its fruits at first, things rapidly degenerated. It is a long-lasting belief in the community that Priscilla was born out the union of Seath and Gwynevere. The heritage with the former is obvious: the girl is described as 純白の半竜 [“pure-white half dragon”] in the description of her soul, the “white dragon” [白竜] being proverbially Seath [Moonlight Greatsword et others]. The descendance is evident looking at the draconian tail and scaled skin, and Priscilla even shares invisibility properties with the floors in Seath’s Crystal Cave. The logical jump, then, is easy: she must be another daughter of the happy couple — and that’s why she’s also a mere “half” dragon. This interpretation reveals its fallacies when reading the original text for her soul:
不義の子にして生命の敵である半竜のソウルは
The soul of a half-dragon, a “child of immorality” and enemy of life.
The locution 不義の子 literally reads as “child of immorality”, but what does this actually mean? This “immorality” [不義] is more accurately something resulting from an illegal act. From a historical perspective it was used to describe the crime of murdering one’s teacher or a government official, but in the context of family relationships has a much more precise meaning: adultery. A 不義の子 is, in other words, a child born out of wedlock: Priscilla is not the daughter of Seath and Gwynevere, but a bastard born out of an affair. This is why her sole existence is considered so impure!
The next question is obvious: who’s the mother, then? The games never provide a solid answer, but Velka is the most likely candidate. Cutting Priscilla’s tail will result in a peculiar dagger: this is one of the only three items in the entire game to deal occult damage by default, one of the other being Velka’s Rapier. The power of Dark has taken roots inside Priscilla’s body, and on the other hand the Goddess of Sin was always fond of the occult arts — the Ring of Sacrifice of her belongings even makes a small Humanity icon appears in the game’s HUD. Moreover, Ariamis is littered with Velka’s iconographies, from sets and weapons of her priests, to the corvians mutated after their faith for her. With her figure being so prominent in the Painting, the statue in its center is most likely her — remarkably, hugging a child. And who could that be, if not the little girl the snowy world was painted for?
If Seath was married with Gwynevere, then he had a little affair with Velka — and Priscilla was born out of this. We’ll never know the specifics — maybe the two were using each other for their own schemes; maybe two creatures so focused on Intelligence did eventually fall in love, even if just briefly. Sen’s Fortress is currently run by Seath judging by his Serpent Men infesting the place, and here we can find a room with two chests: one contains a Divine Blessing bestowed by Gwynevere, the other a Ring of Sacrifice crafted by Velka. Maybe Seath’s heart really couldn’t choose at the end, but he’s long gone insane — and probably no longer cares.
Family of the Darkmoon
The original description of Tin Darkmoon Catalyst immediately throws some shade to the heritage of last of the children of Gwyn. Gwyndolin is here addressed as グウィン王の末子として歴とした神 [“a legitimate god as the youngest child of King Gwyn”]. This phrasing is never used elsewhere, and it seems to lean into the idea the legitimacy of Gwyndolin as part of the pantheon comes from him being Gwyn’s son specifically. Why the redundance, if not to highlight the mother alone wouldn’t be sufficient to fulfill such a claim?
Looking at the lastborn design, some oddity strikes compared to his brother and sisters. For instance, he has serpentine legs — something that makes him akin to draconic kin, considering snakes are failed-to-be dragons [Covetous Silver Serpent Ring]. This isn’t an illusion of sorts from his side either, as Gwyndolin makes himself depict without the reptilian limbs both in Oolacile and in Irithyll: it’s a trait he pretty much despises. Is it possible he has a bit of dragon blood running through his veins?
According to the description of his set, Gwyndolin was raised as a daughter as he was born under the influence of the moon. What does this mean? The lastborn has a particular affinity to sorcery, and this is no chance as the celestial body is also particularly linked to it. Specifically, the description of Moonlight Greatsword reveals “moonlight” to have been a focal point of the studies of Seath to establish sorcery altogether. Only, Gwyndolin’s power comes from an obscured moon — giving its covenant and pinnacle miracle the title of “Darkmoon”, and he himself is addressed as the “Dark Sun”.
Where did this darkening come from? The “sun” part of the title surely derives from his father, but what about the mother? If all the oddities Gwyndolin presents derive from heritage, then we should look for a draconic lady with some form of dark affinity and a history with the moon. Priscilla matches all of the above: a half-dragon born out of the founder of sorceries and scholar of the moon power, and with a dark energy flowing in her body due to her mother.
A mother-son relationship between those two characters would explain a couple of details and unravel some connections, especially regarding Gwyndolin grandparents. For instance, Seath being the god’s grandfather not only explain the boy’s affinity to sorcery and the moon, but also why he shares the OST with the Moonlight Butterly, another creation of the White Dragon [Soul of the Moonlight Butterfly]. The links between Velka and Gwyndolin are even more apparent: the sin administrated by the goddess is punished by the Blades of the Darkmoon [Indictment], a covenant the Dark Sun is in charge of at the time of the first game. Maybe the reason behind this choice was as simple as nepotism.
In the first game this was the extent of what you can theorize about Gwyndolin and Priscilla relationship. The crossbreed being her mother was an interesting possibility, but only subtle hints were revealed about it. The third chapter goes a bit more in depth introducing Yorshka. According to the description of Darkmoon Blade, Gwyndolin is fair-and-square her 兄 [“older brother”] — this is something spoken by an external narrator, not simply something she is used to call the god: they share a family relation.
暗い月の奇跡は、即ち復讐の物語である
だが騎士団総長ヨルシカはその意味を知らず
ただ兄の面影に、彼の物語を語るだろう
The miracle of the Darkmoon is namely a story of vengeance.
However, the Chief of the Knights Yorshka doesn’t know its meaning.
She merely tells the story, in the vestige of her older brother.
It is hearsay, instead, her status of Gwyn’s daughter. While she addresses the Lord of Sunlight as “father” and the Princess of Sunlight as “sister”, this is merely in the context of the formula upon entering her covenant: she is merely repeating what Gwyndolin taught her, as the same description for the blade addresses. The claim would indeed be impossible: Gwyndolin is the lastborn [Tin Darkmoon Catalyst et others], yet he is older than Yorshka.
If they truly are brother and sister, then there’s only one solution to this apparent discrepancy: they must have a different father, but the same mother. And who Yorshka’s mother can possibly be, considering she has clear draconic features and she also speaks of “dragons and crows” as the only creatures she knows can fly — strongly suggesting she was raised in the Painted World?
The relation between Yorshka and Priscilla may even reveal the fate of the latter. At the foot the church entitled to the current chief of the Blades of the Darkmoon we can find a small cemetery, one tomb larger than the others. A single corvian is praying to the giant grave, affirming a connection between the person here buried and the Painted World: maybe the child of immorality did, eventually, manage to leave her cage to live a fulfilling life free from the prejudice of the gods; maybe her death was instead more violent and tragic.
At the end, all we can infer is she received a proper burial — and it does make sense some respect was showed towards the pale lady, in the moment her firstborn took over Anor Londo as the new Allfather after Lloyd [Soul of Pontiff Sulyvahn] — a notion completely missed by localization.
イルシールの法王サリヴァーンは
旧王家の主神を廃聖堂に幽閉し
ついには神喰らいに供したという
It is said that Pope Sulyvahn of Irithyll imprisoned the Allfather of the former royal family in the abandoned cathedral. At last, he offered him to the God Eater.
Speaking of which, Aldrich dreams of a pale girl while eating alive Gwyndolin [Lifehunt Scythe], and this will result in Priscilla’s Scythe as a weapon obtainable from the cannibal’s soul. This could be either Priscilla or Yorshka, the God of the Darkmoon having a last thought of his family before being munched by the God Eater. Regardless of the particular interpretation, in settles the matter on the fact a blood relation does exist between him and the crossbreed of Ariamis.
A couple of questions remains, more importantly: why? Given how Priscilla is treated by the society of Anor Londo, it’s unlikely the relation between her and Gwyn was consensual. Maybe the Lord just wanted a stronger heir who could encompass the power of sunlight, sorcery, dragons and darkness — if so, the result must’ve been disappointing. Maybe it was a moment of weakness after losing his mysterious first wife. Dark Souls II does introduce the miracle Blinding Bolt, a story apparently forbidden by Gwyn himself, yet evidently also about him considering the faith required to perform the thunder-based art. The description wonders if this banishment was out of hatred or sorrow: maybe this little plot betrays resentment from the Lord’s side? Sure is, whatever is in there, he wished it was never spoken again.
遥か古の太陽の神によって生み出されたが
生みだした者自身によって封じられていた
それは激しい怒りなのか、それとも慟哭だろうか
Created by the God of the Sun in the distant past,
But forbidden by its own creator.
Was it intense anger, or perhaps lamentation?
Returning to Yorshka, chances are she was not the only children born after Gwyndolin. The Painter we currently find in Ariandel has a peculiar anatomy. Not only the white hair are clearly reminiscent of Priscilla, but her eyes are also akin to those of Primordial Serpents: in all likelihood, she also has a bit of draconian blood.
The girl evidently decided to remain in the Painting, following her vocation in one last attempt to paint a world that will not rot. She hasn’t forgotten about her mother though, her warning against the acolytes of Fire that persecuted their family for centuries are accompanied by her invite in learning that same power nonetheless, in order to succeed in her intent.
…火を知らぬ者に、世界は描けず
火に惹かれる者に、世界を描く資格は無い…
大丈夫、忘れてないよ、お母さん…
“…Those who don’t know about Fire cannot paint a world.
Those who are captivated by Fire are not qualified to paint a world…
It’s all right. I haven’t forgotten, mother…”
At this point what remains unanswered is the identity of Yorshka and the Painter’s father. Unfortunately, we have no concrete answers nor likely candidates. We already addressed how both were probably raised in the Painted World, meaning Priscilla’s companion must’ve also been present here. You could suggest a Corvian then, but the daughters don’t show any bird-like traits; then, it was most likely part of the human population in Ariamis/Ariandel — some may propose Sulyvahn, but while he was raised in the Painting [Frozen Weapon, Snap Freeze] the notion would be difficult to harmonize with the fact a Church of Yorshka was erected before the Pontiff took over Irithyll and imprisoned the girl. With the current sets of data, the identity of the father simply remains unspoken.
Children of Flame
The Gwynevere we encounter in the first game is merely an illusion created by Gwyndolin, so that whoever Chosen Undead would arrive so far will receive the Lord Vessel from an angelic woman rather than a frail prince with corrupted blood and reptilian traits. If anything, it speaks volumes on how the God of the Darkmoon perceived his own appearance, brainwashed by a toxic family environment that never tried to hide feelings of despise towards the boy who was grown as a girl, stripped of his own right to inherit the throne. But where is the real Gwynevere?
As the description of the Ring of the Sun Princess reveals, she eventually left Anor Londo along the other deities. It was only then, that she married the Flame God Flann.
太陽の光の王女グウィネヴィアは
多くの神と共にアノール・ロンドを去り
後に火の神フランの妻となった
The Princess of Sunlight Gwynevere left Anor Londo along with many gods,
and later became the wife of the Fire God Flann.
The notion Gwynevere was married to another deity doesn’t conflate with her original contract with Seath. She became Flann’s wife only after leaving the city, and a broken marriage could’ve just been the reason for her departure. Her cheating husband was leaning more and more to insanity while his quest for immortality continued, her father sacrificed himself long ago, her sister disappeared from even longer along with her daughter, his brother stripped of his title and name, exiled who knows where. She must’ve felt alone, and the situation culminated in a romantic gateway.
Little can be said about Flann. The mysterious character gets mentions only in this one line of description through the whole trilogy, despite the fact a pompous title like “Flame God” would make you think of a prominent figure in the pantheon, in a world where fire is so crucial to the cosmology. Instead, everything is left unspoken. Maybe he was just a minor deity of “fire” in a more mundane way, maybe he was somehow in charge to look over the Klin. We’ll just never know.
What is more certain is that Gwynevere had offspring even after the exodus, be it with Flann or with others is difficult to say for a goddess representing fertility, but we have no reason to assume her adventure with the second husband ended so abruptly. The description of Bountiful Sunlight in Dark Souls III describes the princess sharing her miracles “both as a wife and a mother”, a connotation strikingly absent from the text of the same item in the first game. After all, Shira was soon out of the picture, and most human warriors who received the princess’ blessing were probably oblivious of the daughter existence altogether. The figure of Gwynevere as a mother, then, must be successive. Indeed, the description for Sun Princess Ring confirms she raised multiple “precious children” [貴い子たち] upon her departure from Anor Londo.
Both Bountiful Sunlight and Soothing Sunlight return in the third game, but this time they’re not dropped by human maidens. The second can be crafted using the Soul of the Dancer, whose description confirms the Dancer of the Boreal Valley is a “descendant of the former royal family” [旧王家の末], and not a “distant” daughter like localization claims. Considering the miracle engraved in her very essence and the veil she wears being a vestige of the old gods and the formal reigning dynasty [Dancer’s Crown], she is likely one of the children of Gwynevere and, probably, Flann.
In other words, Gwynevere ended up in Irithyll, in the same Anor Londo she tried to left behind. With Flann suspiciously missing from the scenes it’s possible the god eventually died or left wife and daughters alone: whatever the truth really was, it was yet another failed marriage. And despite all the stories, Gwynevere doesn’t seem to have lived up to her reputation as a mother: the Dancer will eventually be handed over to Sulyvahn’s militia, twisted in appearance by the Pontiff’s black eyes [Dancer’s set].
If Soothing Sunlight was recorded in the soul of one of Gwynevere’s offspring, what about Bountiful Sunlight? While being more ambiguous, as not supported by a clear textual evidence like for the Dancer, we’re in front of an analogous scenario. The miracle can now only be obtained through the Soul of Rosaria, an essence Leonhard will personally bring in the former chamber of Gwynevere in Anor Londo to make her rest in peace. Put it simply, Rosaria is yet another daughter of the Princess of Sunlight.
Yet we find her in a sorry state, caged in the Cathedral of the Deep with her tongue cut and covered in white slime. What did she do to deserve such a treatment? The worst is, probably nothing at all.
God-Eater Spawn
The character of Aldrich is one of the worst abominations ever conceived by From Software. The corrupted priest devoted himself to the sweet act of human meat consumption, and he never hid it: he was happy to made others join the feast [Aldrich’s Ruby/Sapphire]. The “Deep” his cathedral takes its name from was originally a peaceful and consecrated place, but the loathsome devourer managed to erase every trace of its holiness [Deep Protection], and eventually the whole cast of priests was corrupted by his twisted nature [Deacon set]. His madness will culminate with the consumption of a still-breathing Gwyndolin, which will grant him the title of Devourer of Gods, short before his demise by our hands.
During his final act of blasphemy, Aldrich demonstrated to be able to move in the Boreal Valley at ease. And this comes with no surprise, as Anri reveals us the clerics originates from Irithyll. What was he doing in the Cathedral of the Deep in the first place, then? According to Hawkwood, he was “imprisoned” there:
溺れた豚のように膨れ、
蕩けた汚泥となり、
深みの聖堂に幽閉された
“He [Aldrich] swelled like a drowning pig, and turned into melting, dirty sludge.
So, they imprisoned him in the Cathedral of the Deep.”
The higher-ups were well aware of Aldrich despicable nature, and they worthlessly tried to confine him. The Cathedral of the Deep was originally a Way of White facility [Archdeacon Holy Garb], and we can then imagine the highest authority had a role in the cannibal reclusion: the same Pontiff Sulyvahn that will later “concede” Gwyndolin to the God Eater, at this point in the timeline has still all the interests to keep intact his position of power at the church’s top. And if the Dancer ended up under his army of human beasts, her sister experienced a much more terrible fate. If you noticed Aldrich’s name was bolded, you may’ve already guessed he’s part of this family tree.
Rosaria’s chamber in the cathedral is unsettling to say at least. Not only the entrance door is accompanied by prison bars, now twisted in a way only a beast with immense strength could’ve accomplished; but as we look around, we start to notice a copious number of cradles, some even hanging from the ceiling. The implication is nefarious, but clear: the heavenly daughter is being used as breeding livestock.
Evidently, the hunger for human meat wasn’t the only appetite that needed to be satisfied, and Sulyvahn knew this well. Handing over Rosaria to the Cathedral, from what the game tells us, doesn’t appear to be a punishment from an otherwise unspoken crime: she was simply needed to keep the monster at bay. In this sense, the white goo covering her hair doesn’t evoke the image of sperm by mere chance. The violation of the woman was so profound that even her soul has taken a twisted from, and Leonhard — in one last and desperate attempt to save her — doesn’t hide the harsh truth beyond gentle words, attacking us sure we, too, desire only to defile his goddess:
…ほう、まさか貴公がやってくるとは、驚きだな
あの爛れきった何かに、欲情でもしていたものか
“Mh… I’m indeed surprised you’ve come. Were you feeling lustful over that putrid thing?”
飽き足らず、魂すらも、穢そうとは
“Unsatisfied, you want to defile her soul as well.”
魂だけは、もう誰にも穢させぬ
まして貴公のような、人皮の獣にはな！
“I won’t let anyone defile this soul anymore. Let alone beasts in human skin like you!”
貴公、なぜ、魂までも求める！
獣どもには、肉体だけで十分だろう！
“Why are you seeking the soul as well? For beasts like you, the flesh alone should be sufficient!”
But where are all the children born out of this tragic union? Aldrich depravities, unfortunately, don’t end here. The description for the Executioner set makes immediately clear human infants were among the delicacies the Lord of Cinder was used to delight with in his banquets. What localization left out, is that Aldrich enjoyed to feast with his own offspring:
ホレイスはエルドリッチの子供たちの一人であり
唯二人の生き残りでもあった
Horace was one of the children of Aldrich, and one of the two sole survivors.
While the English merely claims Horace was one of the two children to escape from the God Eater, the original text makes clear he was his children in the first place. And if fate was merciful to him and his companion, all the others ended their lives in tragedy. It was a perpetual cycle of violence: Rosaria was violated, she gave light to the monster’s child, the infant was taken care of until their meat reached maturity, and then mindlessly devoured by their own father. Repeat indefinitely.
It was maybe for this reason Rosaria’s firstborn will cut down her tongue [Obscuring Ring]: did they simply want to end the screams of pain of their mother? According to the ring description Rosaria is still waiting for them to return, meaning the firstborn did not meet the same fate of the other children. In all likelihood, the identity of this character is Horace himself: rather fitting, considering he will end up losing his tongue too — presumably by a knight of his mother’s covenant, collecting Pale Tongues for their mute goddess.
If Horace is one of the two sole survivors of Aldrich’s children, then the other must be Anri. The two are inseparable, and knowing who their father is it makes more sense why they’re so determined in their quest to kill the God Eater. Anri even recalls in a couple of instances how their duty must be accomplished for “the children”, referencing all the brothers and sisters who didn’t make it.
One possible inconsistency to this reconstruction is the fact Anri introduces themselves as a knight “from Astora”, but the contradiction is only apparent. Not only the land of Astora has fallen by the time of Dark Souls III [Astora Straight Sword], making the claim unbelievable, but the Elite Knight set also confirms in its description Anri was merely fascinated by this land they only knew by name. They are not from Astora, but eagerly sought their own cultural identity: a forgotten country of brave knights must’ve sounded more romantic than the dome of an evil beast.
Royals of Lothric
Both the Dancer of the Boreal Valley and Rosaria ended their story in tragedy, one twisted beyond recognition to a soldier-beast and then killed by our hands, the other left alone and broken in the clutches of a man-eater monster. Where was Gwynevere in all of this? The goddess is absent from Irithyll when we visit the place: she must’ve run again. At the same time, a mysterious character awfully similar to the Sun’s eldest daughter makes her appearance in the neighboring kingdom of Lothric.
The Queen of Lothric is a mentioned character whose true nature remains shrouded in uncertainty. Her name is never spoken, her semblances never depicted. We know, however, she can produce the same Divine Blessings originally bestowed by Gwynevere. These are more properly 女神の祝福 [blessing of the goddess], confirming the divine nature of the monarch. Moreover, the description for the item claims she was “likened” [例えられたが] to a goddess of fertility and abundance. While the original text is less strong in claiming the queen and Gwynevere are one and the same, the former seems to share with her much of her divine connotations.
彼女は先王オスロエスの妻であり
豊穣と恵みの女神にすら例えられたが
末子オセロットを産んで後、姿を消したという
[The Queen of Lothirc] was the wife of the former king Oceiros, and was even likened to a goddess of fertility and abundance. It is said that she disappeared after giving birth to her youngest child, Ocelotte.
The parallels with Gwynevere don’t end here. For instance, once again we have a wife that runs away after a broken marriage. And things this time took an ironic turn. Oceiros was the king of Lothric at the time the queen joined him in marriage. Obsessed with the idea of giving to the world a strong heritage to prolong the cult of the Firelink, the king desperately sought a strong heir. In his desperate quest, he eventually discovered heretic texts stored in the Grand Archives: the original author was Seath [Soul of Consumed Oceiros]. Oceiros started to be fascinated with dragons, and his research culminated into madness when he tried to ascend as one of them [Dragonscale Ring]. The Queen of Lothric was now married to a White Dragon. History repeats itself.
With the Divine Blessing claiming the queen gave birth to her “youngest child” before disappearing, it must mean other heirs to the throne must’ve been born before. Indeed, crucial to the narrative are the characters of Lothric and Lorian, addressed as “younger prince” and “elder prince” respectively in their boss-battle. Their existence once again proves the identity between the Queen of Lothric and Gwynevere: the woman from Londor we find at the entrance of the Dreg Heap shows to be familiar with Lorian in her dialogues, and the description of her Old Woman’s Ashes confirms she was once the wet nurse of someone important. English localization claims this person was “royalty”, but the term used is more specifically 貴人; while this can be rendered as “nobleman”, it would be diminishing from someone with royal blood. Instead, the same kanji is used to describe Gwynevere’s “precious children” in the description of the Sun Princess Ring. Everything points to the fact Oceiros’ wife was none other than the Princess of Sunlight. Maybe she was “likened” to the goddess simply because her original identity faded in obscurity, but she clearly wasn’t that good in hide her traces.
While they are often addressed as “twin princes” [双王子], this doesn’t necessarily mean the two are actual biological twins — the term can also be used to underline a more spiritual connection the brothers undoubtedly had, their souls being intertwined with one another even after death [Soul of the Twin Princes]. Be it as it may, Lorian surely had the right to inherit the throne as the “elder”, while Lothric fate was always meant to be much more twisted.
Since childhood Lothric was destined to sacrifice himself to the Flame, evoking the rite of Firelink started by Gwyn ages prior and prolonging once more the Age of Fire. Unfortunately for Oceiros, he was born frail and ill, unfitting to serve as good kindling [Hood of Prayer], and this while Lorian grew as a mighty warrior even able to best in combat the Demon Prince [Lorian’s Greatsword]. When it became clear the younger prince didn’t have the strength to succeed in his task, the kingdom recurred to dehumanizing practices [Lothric’s Cinders of a Lord], and this likely resulted in the “curse” binding the two souls together. Maybe the original intent was to share the vigor of the elder brother to the younger — the process is described as something the former accepted willingly — but they obtained the opposite result: Lothric illness was transmitted to Lorian, and he ended up losing his voice and the use of legs [Lorian set].
Now Oceiros had two malformed sons, both unfitting to burn or to reign. On top of that, the description of their soul states they eventually decided to refuse the fate that was designed by their father and their kingdom, and refused to offer their bodies as kindling regardless. This was what led to the king to his path towards insanity, desperately trying to become a dragon so that a fitting heir could be born and burn for the sake of the world.
The Divine Blessing affirms Ocelotte as the “youngest child” [末子] of Oceiros and Gwynevere. Short after his birth, the queen would disappear again, and this time we won’t have the chance to learn where. For all her life, the Princess of Sunlight run away from responsibilities, leaving broken connections behind. Maybe it’s only fitting we never meet her in person: unable to be with others, she will end her story in solitude.
As for Ocelotte, his father refers to him as a “dragon child” [竜の御子], meaning he was conceived when the king already mutated his form. When approaching the pale beast, he starts to wondering where his son went, inviting him to stop hiding. You may think the man went completely insane, considering his hand is placed like holding an invisible child. But invisibility is also an inheritance of the studies of Seath, since the times of Prisicilla and the Crystal Cave. With a crying present during the boss-fight, we can infer Ocelotte is right there in his hand.
In reality, this is most likely a way to avoid censorship. In the game files has been discovered the model of a visible Ocelotte in the clutches of his draconian father. During the battle, the mind of Oceiros would’ve gone completely feral, ultimately smashing his beloved son on the ground multiple times until he would’ve exhaled a last crying breath. The animation still plays in the game, but the background cry goes on as to imply the child still somehow survived. It was a bit too graphic even for Dark Souls.
Last branch of the family tree is Gertrude. This “holy woman” of the Queen of Lothric — using the same 聖女 for the saints of Gwynevere, if there were still doubts on the monarch’s identity — is also said to be the queen’s own child [Bountiful Light]. The fact this is apparently hearsay may suggest she wasn’t part of the royal family. Possibly, she was a daughter Gwynevere had in a previous marriage — the miracle imparted to her knights is Bountiful Light, a weaker version of Bountiful Sunlight derived from Rosaria.
If that’s correct, then the girl was taken as a holy woman by the new order under the queen’s command: she was saved from Sulyvahn schemes, contrary to her sisters. But again, tragedy lies behind every corner. The miracle describes Gertrude as the “maiden of the angel” [天使の娘], and this isn’t a mere title. Divine Pillars of Light is a tale written by Gertrude herself to deliver the message brought by an angel who visited her. We are not going to unravel the nature of this mysterious envoy here, but what is sure is that its worship was considered heresy in Lothric, and as such Gertrude was imprisoned in a cage in the Grand Archives [Winged Knight set].
It’s here we found her corpse in the middle of white plumes, the text of her new miracle in hands. The description of Divine Pillars of Light claims she wrote the story despite having lost both sight and voice: the kingdom higher-ups clearly didn’t want her to deliver the new doctrine, to a point of mutilating eyes and tongue of the so-called holy woman. It wasn’t enough: the seeds of angelic faith were already spreading, and the civil war that will follow will bring the kingdom to its knees. But this is another story.