It always made me wonder. How many people could be helped across all the Dark Souls games if the player character just gave someone a damn hug or something. Lol.
Of all the heart wrenching side stories in the original Dark Souls, Rhea's is probably my favorite. Most of the characters in the game are at least capable of surviving the deathtrap that is Lordran; Rhea is just dropped there with her fists and a talisman. She's tragically out of place and can do nothing but blame herself until the bitter end.
I feel like Rhea COULD have done better, had she not stayed alone. She, Siegmeyer, and Solaire had the makings for the start of an absolutely kick-ass party. Add in Griggs or Laurentius and they'd probably have cleared out the place, given enough time to grow together as a group. ^_^ #jollycooperationFTW Solitude seems to be a big theme in Dark Souls -- each of these people, alone, is powerless gainst the inexorable wheel of fate. We'll never know what would have happened had some of these cursed people decided to start working together, but it's nice to think about.
In a way the players character can go hollow. Some people get fed up with the game to a point where they stop playing, weather it be un passable boss fights or no hope in beating the game at all due to the loss in morale. In a way when the player gives up on the game much like the npc's in the game giving up on hope, you could say their character "hollows"...
@@lalramdinavarte4987 This is kinda tragic for my first character that I made about 5 years ago. He was severely under-leveled, under-equipped but somehow made it to the Kiln of the First Flame. I wasn't skilled enough, I didn't know you could parry Gwyn, nor did I have good armor. Didn't even find Havel's armor, and Iron Tarkus' armor was too heavy. Sad to think that after that long journey throughout Lordran, my first character went hollow right as he made it to the end. 5 years later, I've finished the game at least once a year. Just finished my latest one today. If I could extract their 3D models I'd like to have all my characters attend a funeral just for him.
@@Kaganath yeah I remember my first char, clueless like I was back in the days, played all time fat-rolling till Anor Londo, where the silver knights killed the fun. Finished my first DS 1 playthrough yesterday though.
Serously, the amount of paths and events happening in this game that you miss in your first playthrough is through the damn roof. I've watched these series and each and every one of them have given me new unknown information that could happen in the game if you do it a certain way. That's what I love about the game, you never know what secret you find if you play the game differently from before. Quite unique a game.
It's cool to have side stories that are completely missable but the problem is they're far too easy to miss and things have to be done in a specific order. It'd be perfect if they added in hints leading to different stories or made them at least a little obvious. Instead you only come across them if you stumble across them by chance.
That's why i bought every miracle from Rhea but not Homeward, (bought that from Petrus then killed him) and she still remains at the Church. This way she'll remain undead, but won't go hollow.
Rhea deserved better. In a land of hopelessness and despair, even a small glimmer of hope can help break the constant depression that's part of the game and offer a bit of contrast.
I remember the first time i met the pardoner. I came sliding down the ladder, turned around and just saw him standing there. He scared the living shit out of me!!
From Soft should let Vaati voice a character in Dark Souls 3. He has the perfect voice for it, and it would be cool to see a big fan get that kind of treatment.
Re sas It's realistic delivery. In reality, people meeting in passing don't blurb their entire backstories to each other. The only thing others can do is guess at your origins. But you're right, what we see of each character as far as our interactions with them is very minimal.
The Wandering Shadow thats really true and ofc not everyone will tell u about their whole lifetime,but i dont remember a single character from dark souls,who had an actaul personality,just some random backstories,all u could do is to guess something about and this wasnt bad,i really enjoyed analaysing their backstories ingame or via internet,but compared to other games this is nothing,dark souls isnt really that much of a story game but one with a brilliant gameplay and an at least interesting world :)
Re sas Dark Souls is absolutely a story game - you're simply given the choice whether to engage in it or not, that's all. The "interesting world" you speak of is clearly designed purely with the story in mind, i.e. there's not any areas that are just there 'for the sake of it' (and if you've played the DLC, you'll have also seen how the game shows these areas changing and transforming over time). And the really unique really thing about Dark Souls is that the actual gameplay mechanics also contribute to the story. The game offers valid and believable explanations as to how the chosen undead can die countless times, how we can interact with other players in their game worlds, and how the bosses/NPCs all came to be in the locations you encounter them at. Truly inspired.
I'd say the comment Petrus makes about being "a wolf in sheeps clothing" makes it pretty apparent he's been placed there specifically to kill undead who go on the churches little voyage. After all it makes sense, they want the undead out of the way but can't just kill them outright like they do others since they're part of the church. So they gets rid of them under the guise of a holy mission just so the afflicted feels a bit better about what's happening. But then they stick Petrus at the end goal where he offers his aid but instead assures that none of the undead pilgrims ever succeed, that way the church has an ever lasting excuse to get rid of their cursed members without appearing tyrannical by just killing them as soon as they're afflicted. Instead they die in a far off land where many will perish hollow simply making the journey, and even if they do succeed in their goal Petrus just makes sure the deed is done whether it be ensuring they get caught in a trap, or if required he simply does them in himself. And the cycle repeats, a convenient and secretive way to remove the cursed ones while saving face publicly.
But Petrus himself is undead. He's essentially agreeing to murder his own kind and side with an organization that wants him dead too. No one ever leaves Lordran anyways., they all go hollow. Why not let her attempt her mission? At best she'll succeed and at worst she'll die anyways.
Where does it ever say he's Undead? As far as I'm aware it doesn't, and if it's from the man himself he could easily be lying to gain your trust, not like there aren't plenty of liars in Dark Souls. If it's from the code then that's probably simply because they didn't code humans who weren't undead into the game just for one NPC to not be. And even if he was real life has your answers for you. Plenty of people (especially religious) have been willing to do some pretty terrible things if you tell them they're doing it for the right reason. Alternately given what we know of Petrus personality he might have struck a bargain that they'll let him return (even if we know they wouldn't) if he killed enough. But that's only if he is, which I don't recall any concrete evidence of.
Goldenkitten1 Where does it ever say he isn't undead? Considering almost everyone you meet in Lordran is undead, I'd say you're the one who needs to prove he *isn't* undead. Edit: Okay, this argument ended up becoming much longer than I intended, but there was so much to address. You might not want to read it, but could you at least look over the last two paragraphs? Petrus isn't that loyal to his religion. Oswald of Carim states that he is dripping with sin. He murders Reah in a CHURCH when he's probably strong enough to knock her out, drag her into the lift, and do the deed there. He explicitly says he hates Reah for her high birth, acquiring her rank through family connections alone. Well back then, that was often the case, which means he should hate his superiors just as much as he hates Reah, if not more - at least Reah is youthful and innocent. Now let's look at the actual plan. Cleric becomes undead. They don't want to execute the Cleric because they are undead and will just rise again. They don't want to leave them to rot in the Asylum, because after they spent years faithfully service to the gods it would be difficult to justify that to the masses and also anger their very influential families. So instead, they send the cleric on a sacred mission to Lordran to retrieve the Rite of Kindling and go around kindling bonfires. But little does the Cleric know, they have a knight there named Petrus who is supposed to execute all Way of White members who show up there. Do you not see any holes in this? First of all, they are sending valuable knights (healthy ones too, if you theory on Petrus not being undead is true) to an extremely dangerous and hostile land where there is a good chance they will be killed by Hollows before the first undead cleric or priest even arrives. Secondly, as far as we know nobody ever escapes Lordran. The only way out is to jump on a lift, jump off before it even reaches its destination, climb a tower, go up to a nest and pretend to be an egg for a good solid minute, be carried off by a giant crow, and dropped off into the courtyard of an undead-infested imprison where the only way out takes you back to Lordran. So if they aren't in Lordran they're in the Undead Asylum, where all the other Undead go anyways. Lordran is basically the ultimate prison - they aren't expending any resources by having the clerics in Lordran (they are, however, expending resources by keeping knights there to kill them) and the clerics can't escape. Thirdly, what happens if by some impossible miracle the clerics do escape? They just turned their back on a sacred mission, giving the Church a valid reason to put them in the asylum or execute them until they stop being reborn. They have seen nothing to suggest the Church is evil or corrupt... except for the knight who just tried to kill them. So really, Petrus is only there to kill them so they can't tell everyone that Petrus tried to kill them. Why not take Petrus out of the equation and not send him? Fourthly, why do the Undead from the Church need to die any more than the Undead already there? Petrus never comes after you. He never comes after the Crestfallen Warrior (the only other dude there before you arrive.) He doesn't come after Laurentius. He doesn't come after Logan or his apprentice. If it's because of the Prophecy... well, I'll address that in the next paragraph. Finally, what do they lose if the clerics succeed in their mission? Why stop them? If they acquire the Rite of Kindling they can kindle more bonfires. Kindling bonfires prolongs the Age of Fire, and also helps out the Undead who rest at them, which makes it more likely for one of them to fulfill the Undead Prophecy. Additionally, one of the clerics/priests themselves may also be eligible to fulfill the Prophecy. It is by no means in their best interest to see the mission fail. Sure, Reah's mission failed anyways and I guess she was a loose end, but since she's lost her purpose she is just going to go Hollow anyways. She herself tells you this. In short, the plan of sending Undead members of the Church to Lordran on a sacred mission makes sense... up until they send other Church members there for the express purpose of killing them. It's much more likely that Petrus was a sociopath who hated taking orders from people who were born into positions miles above the ones that he had to work hard for. But now that he was in Lordran, a land where titles are irrelevant and the only thing that matters is your skill in combat, he no longer had to follow their rules or instructions. He was in control now, he had the power, so he killed Reah to prove it.
I'm not going to deny you make a good argument and I see where you're coming from. I won't reiterate what VV mentions in this very video but basically its his dialogue that makes me think he's still with the church. And as for Oswalds comment I always assumed the fact that he was "drenched in sin" simply referred to the fact that he had killed many people before you showed up, not just Rhea. A few other thoughts, as for Lordran being a "prison" while you are correct as far as video games go, that's because it's a video game and our character was never meant to leave, so they didn't give you a route to do so. We see plenty of areas off in the distance we never go to, namely at Firelink Shrine we see the borders of the city which ostensibly are the borders to Lordran and you could reach either by climbing or simply using another route that simply isn't there because it's a video game and our character is meant to just keep going, not find a way out. In short I think the idea that there's no way out simply comes from the fact it's a video game and not real life where we can go wherever we choose. The only caveat to this is the church could possibly have its borders surrounded and kills anyone that comes out, but it seems to be suggested that humanity is dwindling so would they really have the manpower for such a task? Remember both Siegmeyer and Sieglinde seem to have showed up of their own volition, and Sieglindes final comment seems to suggest she's returning to Catarina which would mean there is a way out. As for the Rite of Kindling, while it would be great if one of them brought it back it might also redeem the Undead in the peoples eyes. If the Church wants to get rid of the undead the last thing they need is an Undead showing up with the Rite that could save a lot of people, vindicating their existence in many peoples eyes. Better for them to remain ostracized and hated if the church has already consolidated its power over the people. Just a few thoughts. Like I said I'm not going to deny you have logical points but there is a counter-argument to them as well. That's the great thing about the Dark Souls universe, it's deep enough to spark conversation but obtuse enough to be interpreted in different ways.
Goldenkitten1 It is Petrus's initial dialogue that suggests he is with the Church. The same dialogue that is meant to convince you is a loyal, kind-hearted, do-gooder cleric. And regardless of whether or not he believes in the Church's teachings, it is clear that he hates the structure of it. It's not just the fact that we can't leave Lordran, it's the fact that no one else can leave either. And if they do, they will just be shipped back to the Asylum. It was my impression that Lordran was it's own continent. Short of building a boat, you can't escape. But if the wall is the border, and everything outside the wall isn't part of Lordran, then maybe you can't just climb it? This is after all the land where the gods, as well as thousands of undead, reside. They are going to want to make it the most secure place possible - from both inside and outside. The thing is though, they aren't trying to keep humans in Lordran. They are trying to keep humans in the Asylum. The clerics are being sent directly to Lordran. And if Lordran is so big, why is Petrus the only cleric knight there? Are there others? Does the Church have an entire army stationed there, masquerading as undead clerics there to assist anyone who happens to show up an undead mission? The Church doesn't have power over the humans, the gods do (although their hold is weakening, but that would also mean the Church's hold is weakening too.) This is a society where the gods factually exist. The Rite of Kindling is more beneficial than harmful. As I have already said, kindling bonfires prolongs the Age of Fire. I'd be more concerned about the Age of Dark than I would be about the Undead being 'redeemed' in the eyes of the common people. But they won't be. No amount of kindling will change the fact that all undead eventually go Hollow. And their goal isn't just to find the Rite of Kindling and bring it back: it is to collect Humanity and kindle bonfires, which coincidentally the Rite of Kindling happens to be extremely useful for and thus they would want to get it right away. So when an undead Way of White member comes to Lordran to kindle bonfires, my impression is that they are to do so until they die or go hollow if the Church is indeed trying to get rid of them. Sieglinde does say she will return to Catarina, yes, but she never tells us how. Does she not think this way out will be useful to anyone? That she never saw all the Undead wallowing in sorrow and wishing for a way out of the eternal hell they were dropped into? We don't know. Speaking of things we don't know, I feel like that's what this argument is becoming. It has gone from "Why did Petrus kill Reah" to "Is there a way out of Lordran" and "How much power does the church have over the people." We're reading too deep into one action in a video game, I feel. So, here are my closing statements. We don't know for sure that there is indeed some Church conspiracy to get rid of their undead members (a significant portion of these videos are theories and speculation which try to make these characters and situations seem more interesting.) We do however know that Petrus hates people of high birth, and does have to have some sociopathic tendencies regardless of which one of our theories are true. And interestingly enough, Petrus never expresses doubt in his mission - his doubt is only ever with the person leading it. We know that the undead who previously served the Church aren't any more dangerous than the undead who didn't. Petrus shouldn't just be making sure the clerics, paladins, and priests fail: he should be executing undead left and right whenever he has the chance. The Clerics are on a sacred mission; it's the other Undead who are more likely to escape. No offence, but you claim my posts have counter arguments, and yet you only counter a small portion of what I say. (For example, you counter Oswald calling Petrus a sinner but not Petrus murdering someone in a church or how his hatred shouldn't apply just to Reah, but also the people who ordered him to kill people like her in the first place.) Anyways, that's all I have to say. Your theory is certainly interesting, but it is also overly complex and has too many holes in it. I feel my argument is solid, due it being based primarily off of facts while yours is mostly speculation. Not that there's anything wrong with speculation, but we could be going on about this for hours on end so I think it's time to call it quits.
The more you delve into the lore, the more brilliant this game becomes. Deeply rooted connections that go completely overlooked, and From Software leaves the choice up to you without cramming story arcs and cutscenes down your throat.
Big time... Undead as a hero and unlike most other games where beginning is always easy and you go through enemies easily this game starts with hard and becomes harder as you go through... This perfectly explains how weak undead are...
There is. You don't need a console for it either. Form your own checklist and just do it. Achievements are wasted game dev resources, and affect performance as well as loading times.
The feels, man. I was actually sort of in love with Rhea throughout my play through. (A character crush if you will) When I found out she was dead I crushed petrus without mercy
This game has really made me start looking at the concept we call hope that ive come to learn now as the reason for trying. I think we all naturally wish to live as far as breathing I feel to truly live is a stronger concept of pursuing the very best of yourself. gosh damn this is depressing I need to start playing mobile games or something...
OK up until now I've been surviving this playlist with a lot of dignity and aplomb, but this video set me off. Seriously, I'm fucking wrecked over here.
wow, ive been studying the lore on and off for like 2 years, and again i learn something new! ive never had a game, heck never had any piece of art or entertainment fascinate me more than dark souls.
Thank you VaatiVidya for this amazing work, I've been playing FromSoftware's games since Demon Souls and I've only discovered your work on Souls Lores few weeks ago. You analyses are great, it helps me to understand the deepness of this story. Thanks again, you're a trully dedicated person with a good and poetic eyes and words. Keep up the good work, it's a real pleasure to follow you.
I don't think petrus is undead, the talisman below seems to indicate that the clerics on the hunt are alive, also he says hes a wolf in sheeps clothing, I think he is part of the undead hunt.
I saw one comment on an ENB video that pointed out his reaction when you first meet him. Petrus tries to make you (a repulsive undead) go away. When you don't he gives you a coin, something that only has value to the living
Peter Rhea Then why in turn did they have these coins? I know the answer, it's in the coin's description, but it is just as possible the Petrus carried his coins for the same reason... they're not proof he's a living in a land of the undead.
thecreator625 Time to pause, "I know the answer" do you know how many people can claim that about so much of the game and be different from each other? The mimic chest is simply a theory.
I cant tell u how much i got massacred in this game to where i got to a point of blind rage. I didnt care who i was slaughtering. Sif? Protecting artorias grave from robbers? Slaughtered. Limping? Easier to slaughter. Pinwheel looking for a spell to have his family back? Oh u know i chaos flamed him. Til he was dust. Then stuck a silver knight longsword thru his copies. Qualaag protecting her sick dying sister? Big claymore thru the chest. Her sister? Die slow bitch. Smough wanting to be a knight desperately? Killed him first. Ornstein blindly protecting a hologram imagine of a goddess he was tasked to protect and dis so diligently for thousands of years? Awww u touched smoughs chest n got big.... Flaming silver knight sword to the chest. When i finally killed gwyn i roared like a lion.... Then i watched this guys videos n was like oh my god... What have i just done....
So amazing, i just followed all of your and other Lore videos, Im kinda new to the dark souls universe, just finished my first playthrough and was purely amazed. But i dont get it why its so hard in the game to follow all those so deeply and emotional stories. After watching all your lore videos I just felt like understanding so little while i played the game, and i didnt just rushed through, i took my time. Even though i understand the fascination of digging all these story pieces out, I think it would be better for the game, from the perspective of a gamer, when these Storylines and plots are a little bit easier to understand or even realize while playing. Im not talking about throwing it in your face while playing, but I`m just sad that most player probably didnt realized what a deep story plot and charackters they just miseed out if they dont follow the great Dark Souls Community. And frankly i think the majority just moves on after playing through, not taking their time to dig deeper into. And can you blame them !? To be honest i really did NOT expect such deep charackters and storylines behind all this... There is a cracked window somewhere, a dead body next to it... well its probably just there so i can enter, and loot some stuff... I dont come to make all of these amazing connections. And i honestly think that Dark Souls should be a little bit more transperent in that regard... to show little more of how beautiful and deep this world is !
It's incredible how much narrative the game has in it that isn't found out in any other way than through exposition from characters that you may never talk to! A bittersweet story, well told. Excellent video!
You can avoid quite a lot of these endings. Don't buy Logan's spells from Griggs, he'll forever stay at Firelink. Don't buy all Logan's spells, he won't go insane. Don't buy all Reah's mircales... she'll retain a purpose... albeit a fake one, at least until she finds one of her own. True, Dark Souls is a sad game, but a lot of it depends on your actions... From Software did not in vain state that the story is up to your own making and interpretation. In that sense, it is a true RPG.
Incredible work ! i swear this game has the best community of all time. To discover the lore and to put so much work in investigating and editing to produce this gem of a video, simply outstanding! You sir have earned yourself a new subscriber.
I just watched all your lore videos..They are fucking amazing. The amount of story you are able to piece together and present is fascinating. Every little detail you catch from fromsoft blows my mind. Thank you!
I've been playing this game for dozens upon dozens of hours, I still can't appreciate enough, how much depth does formsoftware has brought to it's characters. Such a Legendary game.
These videos are the best dark souls lore videos I've ever seen, and I've seen many, many, many. I really like how serious you are about telling the stories of the many faces in Lordran, and I also really like how prepared you are while reading the texts to us. That way, we listeners don't have to put up with all the "eeeeh, ooooh, like you know, kind of, bla bla bla" each and every sentence. Thank you!
Roderika in Elden Ring really reminds me of Rhea. Their dialogue after the death of their comrades seems similar as do their voices and the situation the player finds them in.
Absolutely wonderful pacing! You really know how to turn these stories and lore into well-woven narratives and cinematic tales. Made my spine shiver at some parts, my hat's off to you! No doubt one of my favorite Dark Souls-related series anywhere.
I believe its reasonable to assume that the channeler would have reported the presence of a young maiden to his master. They had likely been observing her since her arrival, anyway. As soon as it became apparent she was unguarded, and unable to defend herself, im sure that the Seath had agents who could easily have grabbed her. the Chosen Undead couldnt be by her side every second, and the destruction of the Channeler would have been but a minor set back. Think of all the time between seeing Rhea on her knees in the church, and when you finally arrive at the prison. Plenty of time.
nexxusx But I killed the channeler long before I first saved Rhea (isn't he one of the enemies you fight before the gargoyles?), so how could he be "observing" her if he was dead before she even arrived?
on my first playthrough, which was only a month ago so I remember it well, I killed Petris because he was fat and wouldn't stop saying the same thing and has a bad haircut, I killed lautrek for the firekeeper, and I killed patches because he tried to kill me, all before I ever met her. And as a reward for killing all her enemies, she sends her guards to kill me in my own shrine and then charges me with a knife. I feel underappreciated
Wow never knew this, I’ve been subscribed to you for years ever since I played my first souls game. Your amazing I’m going through every single video of yours. Thank you for satiating my need for the dark.
you can save her. just go to the tombs last or second to last when your gathering the lord souls. and she never gets captured by syth. so if you kill petrus she'll stay alive in the church. if you dont buy all her miracles
wow. the way you tell the stories and you make the connections. just epic! i'm sharing this with all my friends even if they have no clue what dark souls is.
Of all the tales I have heard on this channel, this one was the most gut wrenching and actually made me feel a bit sad. Lordran is truly a hopeless land.
So much depth in all of these (AT FIRST GLANCE) seemingly shallow npc-merchants. I would have picked up the game way earlier if I had known about this... thank you so very much for making these vids, kind sir!
Now, I think darksign is the process of samsara - endless reincarnation - through countless lives and deaths we try to learn of what it means to be human, or more than human, or losing humanity.
You know, if I was Miyazaki, I would be damn proud of the way your videos compliment my works. I've played and beaten DS 1 and 3, but I'm honestly about to play DS 2 if for no other reason than to have some context for the Ds2 videos in your series. Keep up the great work
I remember my first time playing dark souls when it was released and I was trying to find a way to get her out and when I killed her hollowed guards I was kiting around the spinning hands and it did the ground n pound ability and squashed her like a bug as I was kiting backwards..... .very tragic for me because her voice made me feel very concerned for her, i felt like sitting beside her and leaving my computer on for 20 years so she would have company... GAD DAHM YOU MIYAZAKI!!!...
Everytime, i wonder jsut how bad the outcome can be, form what i've heard out of the community. but then you bring up the small points. the theories, the unsaid details, etc. And then that emphasizes the point so much more. And thne you get a very strong punch in the feels...
The events will still take place probably even if you kill that channeller. The trigger for her to get kidnapped to the Duke's Archives and get hollowed is to buy all her miracles.
There's a mouse and keyboard mod that makes it quite playable! I haven't tried it, but hundreds of people have vouched for it. Use it while you save up for a gamepad! Many games just work better with one
There is another history about Rhea, she is the daughter of Havel the rock,and as time goes on she becomes undead, so the church makes her go to the catacombs and find the Rite of kindling. Havel as a good father and friend of Gwyn ask him to send with her some guards to protect her; but Seath the scaleless tells to Gwyn that he will take care of it, Seath hates Havel so he sends the worse knights that he have and well we know what happens then. (That is the reason why havel hates the gods including Seath) This is only another point of view ( hypothesis of the game ) remember that the history of the game can change in various ways, that is one of the reasons i love this game. well I hope someone agrees or disagrees with me and share his thoughts... :D
Hmm I've checked items' descriptions(both sets of Havel and Rhea) and there's no possible relation shown =/ also,Seath didn't hate Havel.Instead,Havel hated everything related with magic(there's also a rumor which says he was ploting to kill the Lords). Finally,the bodyguards who protected Rhea(clerics Nico and Vince)where selected by the churc of The Way of White(Gwyn's religion),not by Seath. So the only clear relation between Havel and Rhea is that they both were from Thorolund.Havel was a bishop of the church and Rhea was daughter of an important family in the region-country
I'm curious to know... 1) How Rhea, Nico, and Vince managed to bypass Pinwheel? 2) How Rhea got back up to the Undead Parish by herself. When you find her, she's injured and slumped behind a rock. I know, NPCs teleport all the time, but she was crippled and has limited fighting ability. I'm guessing that she crawled over to the bonfire and restored to full health before dodging skeletons all the way up to the Firelink Shrine, and somehow slipped past Petrus. Either that, or we would need have an escort mission where the player slings her over his shoulder and takes her back there himself ;)
So I don't pretend to have the best grasp on the Souls story in general, but I have a question. Humanity cures hollowing, right? You can select "reverse hollowing" at any bonfire as long as you've got at least one on hand. And I've got 20 of the damn things sitting around in my inventory. So storywise, what's to stop you from just... just slinging the girl over your shoulder and marching her to a bonfire and turning her human again? Isn't this kind of like when Aerith dies and you sit there crying dramatically with your pockets full of phoenix downs?
Tamar H. Humanity does not really cure Hollowing. It just...kinda slows down the process. The thing we call " Humanity" is just a small, dark fairy that was found inside a Soul. Such fairy can be sacrificed to a bonfire to increase the strenght of a flame. All it does is give you relief and improve your Estus Flask, but in the end the cycle of death and return as an undead keeps going on and on. The Fair Lady is a Good example of the real purpose of the item. She is on the brink of death and must keep consuming humanities to stay alive, but That's only temporary.
***** Either way you look at it, you will not end well. The only way for the Chosen Undead to cure the Cursed Brand is to Link the bonfire on the Kiln of the first flame, but...the process will consume his whole being in order to start a new age of light ( that will still burn out after hundreds of years). The others will keep hollowing, tho. The other Path, will turn him into a Darkstalker, an undead that hunts the humanity of other warriors in order to nourish the dark Covenant, which desires an eternal Darkness. Dark Souls is almost like a huge, neverending cycle of death and rebirth, like a purgatory. Light may shine in the Heroic attempts of the warriors,but the suffering will never end completely.
Tamar H. As I understand it, Hollowing can be staved off with Humanity, but if you slip far enough, there comes a point of no return where you become a proper Hollow, not just a Hollowing undead. If that happens, there's no going back, and no resurrection the next time you die--you're just a zombie until the end. The only reason the Chosen Undead escapes this fate is his/her resolve to cling to his/her quest--and Reah has no such purpose after she teaches you all her miracles.
Absolutely incredible. It just keeps happening. I continue to discover new parts of this game. Everytime I discover something new I think ‘well that’s gotta be it. There can’t possibly be MORE greatness to the story to find’ and lo and behold, there is more greatness to the story to be found lol
VERY interesting to make the Channeler connection at the end there. Nice explanation as to why the channeler is there and why Rhea winds up in the Archives. Thanks!
As long as she has a purpose - teaching you her Miracles - she remains attentive and wary. With nothing left but her faith, she turns her back on the world to pray - easy prey for Seath's eyes.
i allways come back to watch this video again and again :) The Story in this one is just the best of all i think, and the way u tell it is just SuperB. Btw, am i the only one thinking that the "old" mic u use in this video gives the Storytelling more Feeling then in the Newer videos with newer Mic? The Voice is just so fitting, its fantastic Keep It Going Vaati :)
Pinwheel might have gone somewhere else for researching revival and they never met. Probably they didn't even know who has the rite of kindling other than that it is somewhere in the Catacombs and the priests continued onwards to the Tomb of Giants searching for it.
VaatiVdya,this is well put together,the only the thing that can make these video perfect is to add subtexts;the characters in this game somethings talk to softy that I have trouble hearing them correctly. Anyway,thanks for the video.
It always made me wonder. How many people could be helped across all the Dark Souls games if the player character just gave someone a damn hug or something. Lol.
Even Hollows gotta get a bit of dat ass. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
+Samuel Lacey lol
Oh we all know damn well where you touch her ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
You're really ruining the mood here
Sif pulls away before you manage to touch him
If a hollow needs a purpose to go on, why can't they all just learn of Priscilla's tail and the goal of every undead will instantly be to pet it.
You must never kill Solaire. Just pet the tail and praise the sun.
To not love Solaire is not to love life. PRAISE. THE. FUCKING. SUN. BEEYOTCH! Yours is a sad existence without the sun.
***** xD
***** I am replying to this so I can find it again.
CrucibleOfHate lool
i just love that this channel tells me all the npcs worthy of my black halberd's justice.
+Ben Lash oh god i remember leveling up the black halberd to the max and sheer joy of power it brought to me!
easy mode ftwwww
Judge jury and executioner.
I absolutely love the sheer power and justice of Black Knight Halberd!
For me it was the dark hands so I can beat the sense into the MFs
How to win Dark Souls. Refuse the duty as Lord of Cinder and just go live in the Painted World.
Priscilla
Ryan W Like I said, refuse that duty and live in the painted world
Ryan W Bring her with you, the more the merrier.
Ryan W No; she'd rot everything. Bad idea
Besides, Arriamis is kinda cold without a campfire...
Sorry but thou must returneth to whence thou came.
Of all the heart wrenching side stories in the original Dark Souls, Rhea's is probably my favorite.
Most of the characters in the game are at least capable of surviving the deathtrap that is Lordran; Rhea is just dropped there with her fists and a talisman. She's tragically out of place and can do nothing but blame herself until the bitter end.
+NukethewhalesMO idk, I like siegmeyer and solaire the best #SUNIONbros
but the sunionbros yo
+NukethewhalesMO Seems she has to "gitgud"
I feel like Rhea COULD have done better, had she not stayed alone. She, Siegmeyer, and Solaire had the makings for the start of an absolutely kick-ass party. Add in Griggs or Laurentius and they'd probably have cleared out the place, given enough time to grow together as a group. ^_^ #jollycooperationFTW
Solitude seems to be a big theme in Dark Souls -- each of these people, alone, is powerless gainst the inexorable wheel of fate. We'll never know what would have happened had some of these cursed people decided to start working together, but it's nice to think about.
Nah she was just doing a talisman only miracle challenge run of the game obviously. You fucked it up for her so she get got by seethe and goes hollow.
In a way the players character can go hollow. Some people get fed up with the game to a point where they stop playing, weather it be un passable boss fights or no hope in beating the game at all due to the loss in morale. In a way when the player gives up on the game much like the npc's in the game giving up on hope, you could say their character "hollows"...
this is so true tho... i have a few of my first characters that never got past 30 because I simply gave up
@@lalramdinavarte4987 This is kinda tragic for my first character that I made about 5 years ago. He was severely under-leveled, under-equipped but somehow made it to the Kiln of the First Flame. I wasn't skilled enough, I didn't know you could parry Gwyn, nor did I have good armor. Didn't even find Havel's armor, and Iron Tarkus' armor was too heavy. Sad to think that after that long journey throughout Lordran, my first character went hollow right as he made it to the end.
5 years later, I've finished the game at least once a year. Just finished my latest one today. If I could extract their 3D models I'd like to have all my characters attend a funeral just for him.
@@Kaganath yeah, I put so much effort into naming him man. Roleplay and all... and my better chars are all just silly memes and shit lol
@@Kaganath yeah I remember my first char, clueless like I was back in the days, played all time fat-rolling till Anor Londo, where the silver knights killed the fun. Finished my first DS 1 playthrough yesterday though.
Yes, basically we all go hollow after a certain point, like we get bored of the game, or do something else.
I always let Rhea hold on to a few miracles just so she never goes hollow and I visit her every day. She's just too sweet :')
Serously, the amount of paths and events happening in this game that you miss in your first playthrough is through the damn roof. I've watched these series and each and every one of them have given me new unknown information that could happen in the game if you do it a certain way. That's what I love about the game, you never know what secret you find if you play the game differently from before. Quite unique a game.
I find it kind of irritating that you can get locked out of so much stuff if you don't do things in a very specific order
It's cool to have side stories that are completely missable but the problem is they're far too easy to miss and things have to be done in a specific order. It'd be perfect if they added in hints leading to different stories or made them at least a little obvious. Instead you only come across them if you stumble across them by chance.
That's why i bought every miracle from Rhea but not Homeward, (bought that from Petrus then killed him) and she still remains at the Church. This way she'll remain undead, but won't go hollow.
Thinking the same
Rhea deserved better. In a land of hopelessness and despair, even a small glimmer of hope can help break the constant depression that's part of the game and offer a bit of contrast.
Man, I lost the fucking gameeeeee
I remember the first time i met the pardoner. I came sliding down the ladder, turned around and just saw him standing there. He scared the living shit out of me!!
I accidentally hit him woth my +3 zweihander.... He died in 1 hit
At first I thought he was another enemy
@@akiraigarashi2874 +plot twist : he is a ennemy!!
Lmao i just stopped in my tracks in sheer confusion
Standing there with a T Pose menacingly didn’t really help his case either
From Soft should let Vaati voice a character in Dark Souls 3. He has the perfect voice for it, and it would be cool to see a big fan get that kind of treatment.
that would be pretty sweet
+Brendan Routh don't let your Dreams be Dreams
+Woody Sagan Did someone call?
I want this at least for DLC :(
He has gotten especially good recently.
Somehow I didn't realize it was Rhea in that cell until this video. Oh crap. ;_;
da hell ?
I absolutely love how every single character in this game has more back story than a lot of main characters in any video game nowadays.
well not really,they have backstory,but overall the characters are all pretty flat
Re sas It's realistic delivery. In reality, people meeting in passing don't blurb their entire backstories to each other. The only thing others can do is guess at your origins. But you're right, what we see of each character as far as our interactions with them is very minimal.
The Wandering Shadow thats really true and ofc not everyone will tell u about their whole lifetime,but i dont remember a single character from dark souls,who had an actaul personality,just some random backstories,all u could do is to guess something about and this wasnt bad,i really enjoyed analaysing their backstories ingame or via internet,but compared to other games this is nothing,dark souls isnt really that much of a story game but one with a brilliant gameplay and an at least interesting world :)
Re sas more than can be said for modern game characters.
Re sas Dark Souls is absolutely a story game - you're simply given the choice whether to engage in it or not, that's all. The "interesting world" you speak of is clearly designed purely with the story in mind, i.e. there's not any areas that are just there 'for the sake of it' (and if you've played the DLC, you'll have also seen how the game shows these areas changing and transforming over time).
And the really unique really thing about Dark Souls is that the actual gameplay mechanics also contribute to the story. The game offers valid and believable explanations as to how the chosen undead can die countless times, how we can interact with other players in their game worlds, and how the bosses/NPCs all came to be in the locations you encounter them at. Truly inspired.
I'd say the comment Petrus makes about being "a wolf in sheeps clothing" makes it pretty apparent he's been placed there specifically to kill undead who go on the churches little voyage. After all it makes sense, they want the undead out of the way but can't just kill them outright like they do others since they're part of the church. So they gets rid of them under the guise of a holy mission just so the afflicted feels a bit better about what's happening.
But then they stick Petrus at the end goal where he offers his aid but instead assures that none of the undead pilgrims ever succeed, that way the church has an ever lasting excuse to get rid of their cursed members without appearing tyrannical by just killing them as soon as they're afflicted. Instead they die in a far off land where many will perish hollow simply making the journey, and even if they do succeed in their goal Petrus just makes sure the deed is done whether it be ensuring they get caught in a trap, or if required he simply does them in himself. And the cycle repeats, a convenient and secretive way to remove the cursed ones while saving face publicly.
But Petrus himself is undead. He's essentially agreeing to murder his own kind and side with an organization that wants him dead too.
No one ever leaves Lordran anyways., they all go hollow. Why not let her attempt her mission? At best she'll succeed and at worst she'll die anyways.
Where does it ever say he's Undead? As far as I'm aware it doesn't, and if it's from the man himself he could easily be lying to gain your trust, not like there aren't plenty of liars in Dark Souls. If it's from the code then that's probably simply because they didn't code humans who weren't undead into the game just for one NPC to not be.
And even if he was real life has your answers for you. Plenty of people (especially religious) have been willing to do some pretty terrible things if you tell them they're doing it for the right reason. Alternately given what we know of Petrus personality he might have struck a bargain that they'll let him return (even if we know they wouldn't) if he killed enough.
But that's only if he is, which I don't recall any concrete evidence of.
Goldenkitten1 Where does it ever say he isn't undead? Considering almost everyone you meet in Lordran is undead, I'd say you're the one who needs to prove he *isn't* undead.
Edit: Okay, this argument ended up becoming much longer than I intended, but there was so much to address. You might not want to read it, but could you at least look over the last two paragraphs?
Petrus isn't that loyal to his religion. Oswald of Carim states that he is dripping with sin. He murders Reah in a CHURCH when he's probably strong enough to knock her out, drag her into the lift, and do the deed there. He explicitly says he hates Reah for her high birth, acquiring her rank through family connections alone. Well back then, that was often the case, which means he should hate his superiors just as much as he hates Reah, if not more - at least Reah is youthful and innocent.
Now let's look at the actual plan. Cleric becomes undead. They don't want to execute the Cleric because they are undead and will just rise again. They don't want to leave them to rot in the Asylum, because after they spent years faithfully service to the gods it would be difficult to justify that to the masses and also anger their very influential families.
So instead, they send the cleric on a sacred mission to Lordran to retrieve the Rite of Kindling and go around kindling bonfires. But little does the Cleric know, they have a knight there named Petrus who is supposed to execute all Way of White members who show up there.
Do you not see any holes in this?
First of all, they are sending valuable knights (healthy ones too, if you theory on Petrus not being undead is true) to an extremely dangerous and hostile land where there is a good chance they will be killed by Hollows before the first undead cleric or priest even arrives.
Secondly, as far as we know nobody ever escapes Lordran. The only way out is to jump on a lift, jump off before it even reaches its destination, climb a tower, go up to a nest and pretend to be an egg for a good solid minute, be carried off by a giant crow, and dropped off into the courtyard of an undead-infested imprison where the only way out takes you back to Lordran. So if they aren't in Lordran they're in the Undead Asylum, where all the other Undead go anyways. Lordran is basically the ultimate prison - they aren't expending any resources by having the clerics in Lordran (they are, however, expending resources by keeping knights there to kill them) and the clerics can't escape.
Thirdly, what happens if by some impossible miracle the clerics do escape? They just turned their back on a sacred mission, giving the Church a valid reason to put them in the asylum or execute them until they stop being reborn. They have seen nothing to suggest the Church is evil or corrupt... except for the knight who just tried to kill them. So really, Petrus is only there to kill them so they can't tell everyone that Petrus tried to kill them. Why not take Petrus out of the equation and not send him?
Fourthly, why do the Undead from the Church need to die any more than the Undead already there? Petrus never comes after you. He never comes after the Crestfallen Warrior (the only other dude there before you arrive.) He doesn't come after Laurentius. He doesn't come after Logan or his apprentice. If it's because of the Prophecy... well, I'll address that in the next paragraph.
Finally, what do they lose if the clerics succeed in their mission? Why stop them? If they acquire the Rite of Kindling they can kindle more bonfires. Kindling bonfires prolongs the Age of Fire, and also helps out the Undead who rest at them, which makes it more likely for one of them to fulfill the Undead Prophecy. Additionally, one of the clerics/priests themselves may also be eligible to fulfill the Prophecy. It is by no means in their best interest to see the mission fail. Sure, Reah's mission failed anyways and I guess she was a loose end, but since she's lost her purpose she is just going to go Hollow anyways. She herself tells you this.
In short, the plan of sending Undead members of the Church to Lordran on a sacred mission makes sense... up until they send other Church members there for the express purpose of killing them.
It's much more likely that Petrus was a sociopath who hated taking orders from people who were born into positions miles above the ones that he had to work hard for. But now that he was in Lordran, a land where titles are irrelevant and the only thing that matters is your skill in combat, he no longer had to follow their rules or instructions. He was in control now, he had the power, so he killed Reah to prove it.
I'm not going to deny you make a good argument and I see where you're coming from. I won't reiterate what VV mentions in this very video but basically its his dialogue that makes me think he's still with the church. And as for Oswalds comment I always assumed the fact that he was "drenched in sin" simply referred to the fact that he had killed many people before you showed up, not just Rhea.
A few other thoughts, as for Lordran being a "prison" while you are correct as far as video games go, that's because it's a video game and our character was never meant to leave, so they didn't give you a route to do so. We see plenty of areas off in the distance we never go to, namely at Firelink Shrine we see the borders of the city which ostensibly are the borders to Lordran and you could reach either by climbing or simply using another route that simply isn't there because it's a video game and our character is meant to just keep going, not find a way out. In short I think the idea that there's no way out simply comes from the fact it's a video game and not real life where we can go wherever we choose. The only caveat to this is the church could possibly have its borders surrounded and kills anyone that comes out, but it seems to be suggested that humanity is dwindling so would they really have the manpower for such a task? Remember both Siegmeyer and Sieglinde seem to have showed up of their own volition, and Sieglindes final comment seems to suggest she's returning to Catarina which would mean there is a way out.
As for the Rite of Kindling, while it would be great if one of them brought it back it might also redeem the Undead in the peoples eyes. If the Church wants to get rid of the undead the last thing they need is an Undead showing up with the Rite that could save a lot of people, vindicating their existence in many peoples eyes. Better for them to remain ostracized and hated if the church has already consolidated its power over the people.
Just a few thoughts. Like I said I'm not going to deny you have logical points but there is a counter-argument to them as well. That's the great thing about the Dark Souls universe, it's deep enough to spark conversation but obtuse enough to be interpreted in different ways.
Goldenkitten1 It is Petrus's initial dialogue that suggests he is with the Church. The same dialogue that is meant to convince you is a loyal, kind-hearted, do-gooder cleric. And regardless of whether or not he believes in the Church's teachings, it is clear that he hates the structure of it.
It's not just the fact that we can't leave Lordran, it's the fact that no one else can leave either. And if they do, they will just be shipped back to the Asylum. It was my impression that Lordran was it's own continent. Short of building a boat, you can't escape.
But if the wall is the border, and everything outside the wall isn't part of Lordran, then maybe you can't just climb it? This is after all the land where the gods, as well as thousands of undead, reside. They are going to want to make it the most secure place possible - from both inside and outside.
The thing is though, they aren't trying to keep humans in Lordran. They are trying to keep humans in the Asylum. The clerics are being sent directly to Lordran.
And if Lordran is so big, why is Petrus the only cleric knight there? Are there others? Does the Church have an entire army stationed there, masquerading as undead clerics there to assist anyone who happens to show up an undead mission?
The Church doesn't have power over the humans, the gods do (although their hold is weakening, but that would also mean the Church's hold is weakening too.) This is a society where the gods factually exist.
The Rite of Kindling is more beneficial than harmful. As I have already said, kindling bonfires prolongs the Age of Fire. I'd be more concerned about the Age of Dark than I would be about the Undead being 'redeemed' in the eyes of the common people. But they won't be. No amount of kindling will change the fact that all undead eventually go Hollow. And their goal isn't just to find the Rite of Kindling and bring it back: it is to collect Humanity and kindle bonfires, which coincidentally the Rite of Kindling happens to be extremely useful for and thus they would want to get it right away. So when an undead Way of White member comes to Lordran to kindle bonfires, my impression is that they are to do so until they die or go hollow if the Church is indeed trying to get rid of them.
Sieglinde does say she will return to Catarina, yes, but she never tells us how. Does she not think this way out will be useful to anyone? That she never saw all the Undead wallowing in sorrow and wishing for a way out of the eternal hell they were dropped into? We don't know.
Speaking of things we don't know, I feel like that's what this argument is becoming. It has gone from "Why did Petrus kill Reah" to "Is there a way out of Lordran" and "How much power does the church have over the people." We're reading too deep into one action in a video game, I feel.
So, here are my closing statements.
We don't know for sure that there is indeed some Church conspiracy to get rid of their undead members (a significant portion of these videos are theories and speculation which try to make these characters and situations seem more interesting.) We do however know that Petrus hates people of high birth, and does have to have some sociopathic tendencies regardless of which one of our theories are true. And interestingly enough, Petrus never expresses doubt in his mission - his doubt is only ever with the person leading it.
We know that the undead who previously served the Church aren't any more dangerous than the undead who didn't. Petrus shouldn't just be making sure the clerics, paladins, and priests fail: he should be executing undead left and right whenever he has the chance. The Clerics are on a sacred mission; it's the other Undead who are more likely to escape.
No offence, but you claim my posts have counter arguments, and yet you only counter a small portion of what I say. (For example, you counter Oswald calling Petrus a sinner but not Petrus murdering someone in a church or how his hatred shouldn't apply just to Reah, but also the people who ordered him to kill people like her in the first place.)
Anyways, that's all I have to say. Your theory is certainly interesting, but it is also overly complex and has too many holes in it. I feel my argument is solid, due it being based primarily off of facts while yours is mostly speculation. Not that there's anything wrong with speculation, but we could be going on about this for hours on end so I think it's time to call it quits.
The more you delve into the lore, the more brilliant this game becomes. Deeply rooted connections that go completely overlooked, and From Software leaves the choice up to you without cramming story arcs and cutscenes down your throat.
Wow I did not know Rhea ends up in duke's archives, so sad ;(
the channelers from seath kidnap her
This game is just one big depressant
Yep, That's dank souls for you
Play Lisa the Painful and the Joyful, its even worse.
Big time... Undead as a hero and unlike most other games where beginning is always easy and you go through enemies easily this game starts with hard and becomes harder as you go through... This perfectly explains how weak undead are...
Twist: gameplay is not, it's overcoming things
Amen, may the sun shine upon our depression
It would have been really cool if the achievements/Trophies were for finishing each NPC's story lines.
There is. You don't need a console for it either. Form your own checklist and just do it.
Achievements are wasted game dev resources, and affect performance as well as loading times.
@@tokiwartooth4404 I wish I could be as stupid as you, I mean it's gotta be hard work to achieve that level of stupidity
@@tokiwartooth4404 *tips fedora*
God I LOVE her voice. I don't know why, but it breaks my heart in the best way...
The feels, man. I was actually sort of in love with Rhea throughout my play through. (A character crush if you will) When I found out she was dead I crushed petrus without mercy
sup random comment from 7 yrs ago
@@Doobantot sup? hyped for Elden Ring?
@@negljbreakergaming yeah
Hey
@@swackety1513 cool
This game has really made me start looking at the concept we call hope that ive come to learn now as the reason for trying. I think we all naturally wish to live as far as breathing I feel to truly live is a stronger concept of pursuing the very best of yourself.
gosh damn this is depressing I need to start playing mobile games or something...
OK up until now I've been surviving this playlist with a lot of dignity and aplomb, but this video set me off.
Seriously, I'm fucking wrecked over here.
The Iron Tarkus one got me.
i know right.
The two that made mine was Knight Solaire and the Knight of Caterina
Pinwheel got me
Priscilla's Chastity Belt... Right in the feels!
Petrus : Fool! Im a wolf in sheep's clo-
Choosen : BACKSTAB
When I found the hollow in the cell in Duke's Prison I wept like a little baby snail.
I love this comment. It’s an underrated comment.
wow, ive been studying the lore on and off for like 2 years, and again i learn something new! ive never had a game, heck never had any piece of art or entertainment fascinate me more than dark souls.
I've heard from people that he can drink out of a flask, actually. I wonder if estus only affects undead, anyway?
8:45, That hollow near the Chaneller is like "Vaati am I important to the lore!?"
Thank you VaatiVidya for this amazing work, I've been playing FromSoftware's games since Demon Souls and I've only discovered your work on Souls Lores few weeks ago.
You analyses are great, it helps me to understand the deepness of this story.
Thanks again, you're a trully dedicated person with a good and poetic eyes and words.
Keep up the good work, it's a real pleasure to follow you.
I don't think petrus is undead, the talisman below seems to indicate that the clerics on the hunt are alive, also he says hes a wolf in sheeps clothing, I think he is part of the undead hunt.
I saw one comment on an ENB video that pointed out his reaction when you first meet him. Petrus tries to make you (a repulsive undead) go away. When you don't he gives you a coin, something that only has value to the living
Jinzo Seven
So... some mimics in Anor Londo are living?!
thecreator625 May have eaten undead hunters.
Peter Rhea
Then why in turn did they have these coins?
I know the answer, it's in the coin's description, but it is just as possible the Petrus carried his coins for the same reason... they're not proof he's a living in a land of the undead.
thecreator625 Time to pause, "I know the answer" do you know how many people can claim that about so much of the game and be different from each other? The mimic chest is simply a theory.
These stories makes me love this game even more, thank you :)
You are a monster in this game.
Yea pretty much kill the good guys ._.
***** Yeah DKS2 was a massive disappointment for me. I still play DKS1 regularly.
I cant tell u how much i got massacred in this game to where i got to a point of blind rage. I didnt care who i was slaughtering. Sif? Protecting artorias grave from robbers? Slaughtered. Limping? Easier to slaughter. Pinwheel looking for a spell to have his family back? Oh u know i chaos flamed him. Til he was dust. Then stuck a silver knight longsword thru his copies. Qualaag protecting her sick dying sister? Big claymore thru the chest. Her sister? Die slow bitch. Smough wanting to be a knight desperately? Killed him first. Ornstein blindly protecting a hologram imagine of a goddess he was tasked to protect and dis so diligently for thousands of years? Awww u touched smoughs chest n got big.... Flaming silver knight sword to the chest. When i finally killed gwyn i roared like a lion.... Then i watched this guys videos n was like oh my god... What have i just done....
Yea I don't blindly hit things for no good reason
You became a hollow :P
These lore videos are better than any other film out there, fuck you Hollywood, i'm done with you! VaatiVidya lore videos for life!
You need to put subtitles when the characters are talking, they mumble quite a lot.
Literally just turn on captions
Literally just turn on captions
@@laundrybasketgamers literally just turn on captions
Is love not a reason to live?
That'd be cool if she fell in love with you
I would love her..right there..infront of her gods..all day.
yes but its the only bonfire near new londo
thats what I had to do.
I just have a larger chance to lose all my souls from cutting through vally of drakes or to the damn ghost women.
holy shit man, this was so powerful. How did i miss this channel? thank you good sir. subbed
So amazing, i just followed all of your and other Lore videos, Im kinda new to the dark souls universe, just finished my first playthrough and was purely amazed.
But i dont get it why its so hard in the game to follow all those so deeply and emotional stories. After watching all your lore videos I just felt like understanding so little while i played the game, and i didnt just rushed through, i took my time. Even though i understand the fascination of digging all these story pieces out, I think it would be better for the game, from the perspective of a gamer, when these Storylines and plots are a little bit easier to understand or even realize while playing.
Im not talking about throwing it in your face while playing, but I`m just sad that most player probably didnt realized what a deep story plot and charackters they just miseed out if they dont follow the great Dark Souls Community.
And frankly i think the majority just moves on after playing through, not taking their time to dig deeper into.
And can you blame them !?
To be honest i really did NOT expect such deep charackters and storylines behind all this...
There is a cracked window somewhere, a dead body next to it... well its probably just there so i can enter, and loot some stuff...
I dont come to make all of these amazing connections.
And i honestly think that Dark Souls should be a little bit more transperent in that regard... to show little more of how beautiful and deep this world is !
It's incredible how much narrative the game has in it that isn't found out in any other way than through exposition from characters that you may never talk to! A bittersweet story, well told. Excellent video!
I'm trying to figure out why this is happening. Thank you for actually letting me know.
this is one truly amazing and sad story, this one almost makes me want to cry. well done vaati, well done
As a Cleric i have 2 heals, one from start one from Petrus, I just didn't buy Heal from her, and she can be alive :D
I might re-do these with better audio later. Apart from that possibility, that's a pretty impossible request.
Basically, in the end we kill a majority of the NPCs in the game. Quite inevitable, and detestable.
Well, Dark Souls isn't a happy game, nor does it need to be. I like how it remembers me of Elric and his world.
You can avoid quite a lot of these endings. Don't buy Logan's spells from Griggs, he'll forever stay at Firelink. Don't buy all Logan's spells, he won't go insane. Don't buy all Reah's mircales... she'll retain a purpose... albeit a fake one, at least until she finds one of her own.
True, Dark Souls is a sad game, but a lot of it depends on your actions... From Software did not in vain state that the story is up to your own making and interpretation. In that sense, it is a true RPG.
It is only human to commit a sin... Heh heh heh heh...
Incredible work ! i swear this game has the best community of all time. To discover the lore and to put so much work in investigating and editing to produce this gem of a video, simply outstanding! You sir have earned yourself a new subscriber.
I could not imagine such a beautiful but sad lore... My concepts about DarkSouls changed forever. *-*
Dammit, just as soon as I thought I found one nice NPC in Dark Souls....
Solaire? Onionbro?
+Its Murky Yall No. Do not mention my Onionbro! It's too damn sad!
),: i feel ya homie
Christian Calso laurenrious
for me lautrec looks like a total badass. he is similar to mandalorian bounty hunters.
ayy lmao
Turnt Alien ayyyyy
+Shrekas 2 Ayyy gringo
lamo yya
poop
I just watched all your lore videos..They are fucking amazing. The amount of story you are able to piece together and present is fascinating. Every little detail you catch from fromsoft blows my mind. Thank you!
I've been playing this game for dozens upon dozens of hours, I still can't appreciate enough, how much depth does formsoftware has brought to it's characters. Such a Legendary game.
These videos are the best dark souls lore videos I've ever seen, and I've seen many, many, many. I really like how serious you are about telling the stories of the many faces in Lordran, and I also really like how prepared you are while reading the texts to us. That way, we listeners don't have to put up with all the "eeeeh, ooooh, like you know, kind of, bla bla bla" each and every sentence. Thank you!
Roderika in Elden Ring really reminds me of Rhea. Their dialogue after the death of their comrades seems similar as do their voices and the situation the player finds them in.
Watching newer videos with crispy mic then coming to these is nearly a pain on the ears, but I must listen!
So that's why you can find a Maidens Set in the Dukes Archives... It's hers. Wow. That's pretty fucking deep.
😳 oh shit, your telling me I’ve been using her clothes to fast role?
Thing is for me she died at undead parish but I still found the maiden set in the dukes archives
Absolutely wonderful pacing! You really know how to turn these stories and lore into well-woven narratives and cinematic tales. Made my spine shiver at some parts, my hat's off to you! No doubt one of my favorite Dark Souls-related series anywhere.
That's great to hear man
I still rewatch these,great storytelling and thank you
wait dont you kill the channeler before any of this happens? So how would she end up in the Dukes Archives??
I believe its reasonable to assume that the channeler would have reported the presence of a young maiden to his master. They had likely been observing her since her arrival, anyway. As soon as it became apparent she was unguarded, and unable to defend herself, im sure that the Seath had agents who could easily have grabbed her. the Chosen Undead couldnt be by her side every second, and the destruction of the Channeler would have been but a minor set back. Think of all the time between seeing Rhea on her knees in the church, and when you finally arrive at the prison. Plenty of time.
Good point. Thanks for clearing that up
I believe it reasonable there are always channelers in the church - only the others played safe upon hearing their companion was slain.
nexxusx
But I killed the channeler long before I first saved Rhea (isn't he one of the enemies you fight before the gargoyles?), so how could he be "observing" her if he was dead before she even arrived?
Graham Carpenter
Read my previous comment. ;p just because a character doesn't respawn it doesn't mean there's none like that left.
One of your best videos so far.I never knew the whole tale of Rhea,this was very interesting,thank you.
on my first playthrough, which was only a month ago so I remember it well, I killed Petris because he was fat and wouldn't stop saying the same thing and has a bad haircut, I killed lautrek for the firekeeper, and I killed patches because he tried to kill me, all before I ever met her. And as a reward for killing all her enemies, she sends her guards to kill me in my own shrine and then charges me with a knife. I feel underappreciated
To be fair she doesnt know they are her enemies. She is entirely too trusting.
Oh the irony
Wow.....even after 2 years of playing and Im still finding new story line and script....Thanks
Maybe Reah would've survived if she just got gud...
Wow never knew this, I’ve been subscribed to you for years ever since I played my first souls game. Your amazing I’m going through every single video of yours. Thank you for satiating my need for the dark.
rhea was my favorite character...WHYYYYYYYYYYYY
you can save her. just go to the tombs last or second to last when your gathering the lord souls. and she never gets captured by syth. so if you kill petrus she'll stay alive in the church. if you dont buy all her miracles
Cobravenom69 yeah, fuck seek guidance
wow. the way you tell the stories and you make the connections. just epic! i'm sharing this with all my friends even if they have no clue what dark souls is.
What's really striking me is how young she sounds. She sounds like she's barely out of childhood.
Of all the tales I have heard on this channel, this one was the most gut wrenching and actually made me feel a bit sad.
Lordran is truly a hopeless land.
Petrus: reveals his intentions
Me:dark hands equipped *X GON GIVE IT TO YA*
So much depth in all of these (AT FIRST GLANCE) seemingly shallow npc-merchants. I would have picked up the game way earlier if I had known about this... thank you so very much for making these vids, kind sir!
"Then be safe. Farewell, Vereor Nox."
I just want to say your videos are awesome and I am glad you are sharing it with the world, thank you for doing these!
Now, I think darksign is the process of samsara - endless reincarnation - through countless lives and deaths we try to learn of what it means to be human, or more than human, or losing humanity.
I've never done a full Faith build before, and this questline and story is an awesome reason for me to delve back into DS1.
Interesting. That fatty was slain in all my playthroughs :D
You are a terrible person...
I just kicked the onion guy off of a cliff and now i feel bad.
LastSighAMV I don´t mean Siegmeyer. I mean Petrus, or as I like to call him, Fatrus.
FRANKIEonWCin240p Why didn't you call him Patty?
(pokes) eh...? (pokes) eh...? (pokes) eh...?
This music fits perfectly to the atmosphere! Very good job with managing the cutting, ur lore videos are awesome! :)
Dark Souls is the most fucking brilliant game ever.
You know, if I was Miyazaki, I would be damn proud of the way your videos compliment my works. I've played and beaten DS 1 and 3, but I'm honestly about to play DS 2 if for no other reason than to have some context for the Ds2 videos in your series. Keep up the great work
I remember my first time playing dark souls when it was released and I was trying to find a way to get her out and when I killed her hollowed guards I was kiting around the spinning hands and it did the ground n pound ability and squashed her like a bug as I was kiting backwards..... .very tragic for me because her voice made me feel very concerned for her, i felt like sitting beside her and leaving my computer on for 20 years so she would have company... GAD DAHM YOU MIYAZAKI!!!...
All of your Prepare to Cry videos are amazing bro.
I didn't know she hollowfied...I never had any use for miracles so I let her be.
Everytime, i wonder jsut how bad the outcome can be, form what i've heard out of the community.
but then you bring up the small points. the theories, the unsaid details, etc.
And then that emphasizes the point so much more.
And thne you get a very strong punch in the feels...
holy shit. i didn't even know that was possible. of all my playthroughs, i always killed the channeler whenever i see him in the church.
The events will still take place probably even if you kill that channeller. The trigger for her to get kidnapped to the Duke's Archives and get hollowed is to buy all her miracles.
Never figured how she popped up in the archives, now i know. thanks vaati ^^ you make the best lore videos.
There's a mouse and keyboard mod that makes it quite playable! I haven't tried it, but hundreds of people have vouched for it.
Use it while you save up for a gamepad! Many games just work better with one
Rheas story always gets me all watery eyed.
There is another history about Rhea, she is the daughter of Havel the rock,and as time goes on she becomes undead, so the church makes her go to the catacombs and find the Rite of kindling. Havel as a good father and friend of Gwyn ask him to send with her some guards to protect her; but Seath the scaleless tells to Gwyn that he will take care of it, Seath hates Havel so he sends the worse knights that he have and well we know what happens then. (That is the reason why havel hates the gods including Seath) This is only another point of view ( hypothesis of the game ) remember that the history of the game can change in various ways, that is one of the reasons i love this game. well I hope someone agrees or disagrees with me and share his thoughts... :D
Sounds interesting,do you have any evidence to support it?
I wrote everything Ii know.... there is some evidence in his armor, but I don't really remember
Hmm I've checked items' descriptions(both sets of Havel and Rhea) and there's no possible relation shown =/ also,Seath didn't hate Havel.Instead,Havel hated everything related with magic(there's also a rumor which says he was ploting to kill the Lords).
Finally,the bodyguards who protected Rhea(clerics Nico and Vince)where selected by the churc of The Way of White(Gwyn's religion),not by Seath.
So the only clear relation between Havel and Rhea is that they both were from Thorolund.Havel was a bishop of the church and Rhea was daughter of an important family in the region-country
yeah I had heard the one about the lords. The lore that i wrote was one that i really liked, but is really long so i just wrote a summary ^ ^
I'd love to read it and give you my full opinion :)
Dude your episodes blow my mind! What an amazing job. Thanks for helping me understand this awesome game even more!
I'm curious to know...
1) How Rhea, Nico, and Vince managed to bypass Pinwheel?
2) How Rhea got back up to the Undead Parish by herself. When you find her, she's injured and slumped behind a rock. I know, NPCs teleport all the time, but she was crippled and has limited fighting ability. I'm guessing that she crawled over to the bonfire and restored to full health before dodging skeletons all the way up to the Firelink Shrine, and somehow slipped past Petrus. Either that, or we would need have an escort mission where the player slings her over his shoulder and takes her back there himself ;)
Does she sell homeword miracle? If so that could skip a lot of the hassle depending on what bonfires they used.
So I just spent the last good hour or so watching your prepare to cry videos and half a box of kleenex for my tears. Yet I can't stop watching them.
So I don't pretend to have the best grasp on the Souls story in general, but I have a question. Humanity cures hollowing, right? You can select "reverse hollowing" at any bonfire as long as you've got at least one on hand. And I've got 20 of the damn things sitting around in my inventory.
So storywise, what's to stop you from just... just slinging the girl over your shoulder and marching her to a bonfire and turning her human again? Isn't this kind of like when Aerith dies and you sit there crying dramatically with your pockets full of phoenix downs?
Tamar H. Humanity does not really cure Hollowing. It just...kinda slows down the process. The thing we call " Humanity" is just a small, dark fairy that was found inside a Soul. Such fairy can be sacrificed to a bonfire to increase the strenght of a flame. All it does is give you relief and improve your Estus Flask, but in the end the cycle of death and return as an undead keeps going on and on.
The Fair Lady is a Good example of the real purpose of the item. She is on the brink of death and must keep consuming humanities to stay alive, but That's only temporary.
***** Either way you look at it, you will not end well. The only way for the Chosen Undead to cure the Cursed Brand is to Link the bonfire on the Kiln of the first flame, but...the process will consume his whole being in order to start a new age of light ( that will still burn out after hundreds of years). The others will keep hollowing, tho.
The other Path, will turn him into a Darkstalker, an undead that hunts the humanity of other warriors in order to nourish the dark Covenant, which desires an eternal Darkness.
Dark Souls is almost like a huge, neverending cycle of death and rebirth, like a purgatory.
Light may shine in the Heroic attempts of the warriors,but the suffering will never end completely.
Tamar H. As I understand it, Hollowing can be staved off with Humanity, but if you slip far enough, there comes a point of no return where you become a proper Hollow, not just a Hollowing undead. If that happens, there's no going back, and no resurrection the next time you die--you're just a zombie until the end. The only reason the Chosen Undead escapes this fate is his/her resolve to cling to his/her quest--and Reah has no such purpose after she teaches you all her miracles.
Absolutely incredible. It just keeps happening. I continue to discover new parts of this game. Everytime I discover something new I think ‘well that’s gotta be it. There can’t possibly be MORE greatness to the story to find’ and lo and behold, there is more greatness to the story to be found lol
The manliest of all men shall cry after listening to the lore of the Dark Souls!
VERY interesting to make the Channeler connection at the end there. Nice explanation as to why the channeler is there and why Rhea winds up in the Archives. Thanks!
What if you don't get all her miracles and get the right of kindling before returning? Will she still be taken by Seath?
As long as she has a purpose - teaching you her Miracles - she remains attentive and wary. With nothing left but her faith, she turns her back on the world to pray - easy prey for Seath's eyes.
+Ben Russell eyes huh... sucks he's blind...
You have made the game more understanding for me thank you
man this game is deep
All this lore! I consider this to be one of my favorite games for its gameplay but now this just adds to it! I'm so glad I found these.
I'm weeping like a damn fool here!
i allways come back to watch this video again and again :) The Story in this one is just the best of all i think, and the way u tell it is just SuperB.
Btw, am i the only one thinking that the "old" mic u use in this video gives the Storytelling more Feeling then in the Newer videos with newer Mic? The Voice is just so fitting, its fantastic
Keep It Going Vaati :)
How did Rhea,Nico, and Vance skip Pinwheel?
Pinwheel might have gone somewhere else for researching revival and they never met. Probably they didn't even know who has the rite of kindling other than that it is somewhere in the Catacombs and the priests continued onwards to the Tomb of Giants searching for it.
VaatiVdya,this is well put together,the only the thing that can make these video perfect is to add subtexts;the characters in this game somethings talk to softy that I have trouble hearing them correctly.
Anyway,thanks for the video.