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Soulsborne Discussion, Feats & Analysis

Dark Souls Cosmology New
Dark Souls maintains a simpler setup. It features a planet within a universe. Locations such as Heide’s Tower of Flame reveal a cosmos filled with stars, which are also visible from the Prison Tower Bonfire. Additionally, the Sun was created and is sustained by the First Flame.
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Long ago, before the advent of the First Flame, the world was a desolate, grey expanse. Dragons, immortal and unchallenged, roamed freely, as there was no concept of disparity or duality. Then, from deep underground, a flame ignited, introducing disparity to the world. This flame yielded four powerful souls: the Lord Souls of Gravelord Nito, the Witch of Izalith, and Lord Gwyn, along with the Dark Soul possessed by the Furtive Pygmy. Wielding these mighty souls, Gwyn, Nito, and Izalith confronted the dragons, challenging them for supremacy and thereby altering the natural order of the world.
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They remained and hardship set in. They found a spark (Lord Souls in the first flame) which turned into a Sun, driving away the cold/ice. Terrible trouble came (conflict with dragons). The Sun (Gwyn and his allies/army) ended this conflict.

In this context, the 'Spark' that transforms into the Sun, dispelling the cold and ice, refers to the First Flame, with the cold and ice representing the Darkness that preceded its emergence. In the Dark Souls universe, the Sun functions similarly to our own, providing light to the Earth. Additionally, there is a notable conflation between Sunlight and Lightning within Dark Souls.
Sunlight Blade Description:

Miracle wielded by Lord Gwyn’s firstborn. Boost right weapon with rays of Sun.

The power of sunlight, manifested as lightning, is very effective against dragons.

When the eldest son was stripped of his deific status, he left this on his father’s coffin, perhaps as a final farewell.
Sunlight Spear Description:

Miracle born from the fading soul of Gwyn.

Hurl sunlight spear.

In the war that marked the dawn of the Age of Fire. Gwyn wielded these rays of sunlight, which remain fierce even as they fade.

A reference to how both the Sun and Lightning are related to plasma. Dark Souls also has Armillary spheres, which depict the Earth and the Sun.
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In Dark Souls 3, as the First Flame is extinguished, the Sun, which has been shown to be fading throughout the game, completely disappears. Similarly, by the end of the Age of Fire, the stars also vanish, as evidenced by the darkened skies over the Ringed City. This correlation is logical considering the established connection between light and time. The Dark Souls Compendium confirms that the First Flame originated all sources of heat and light, including all stars.

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The First Flame is also noted to be responsible for Time, which is Light.
The Repair Spell:

Lost sorcery from Oolacile, land of ancient golden sorceries.

Repairs equipped weapons and armor. Includes weapons with exhausted durability.

While the effects of this spell are rather subtle, its foundations are a well-guarded secret
. Light is time, and the reversal of its effects is a forbidden art.
Solaire of Astora:

This pleases me greatly! Well then, take this.

We are amidst strange beings, in a strange land.


The flow of time itself is convoluted, with heroes centuries old phasing in and out.

The very fabric wavers, and relations shift and obscure.

There’s no telling how much longer your world and mine will remain in contact.

But, use this,

to summon one another as spirits, cross the gaps between the worlds,

and engage in jolly cooperation!


Of course, we are not the only ones engaged in this.

But I am a warrior of the sun! Spot my summon signature easily by its brilliant aura.

If you miss it, you must be blind!

Hah hah hah!

In this dialogue, Solaire explains that time has become convoluted and is fragmenting. He comes from another "world" or timeline and provides you with a soapstone that allows you to contact and summon individuals from other timelines. This ties into the notion that "Light is Time." As the Fire fades, time itself begins to destabilize and fracture.

In "Dark Souls 3," there is a location known as "Untended Graves," which is essentially a darker mirror of the Cemetery of Ash, complete with a black sky. Here, you encounter Gundyr once again, but in a different form; he is not "Ludex Gundyr" as before, but "Champion Gundyr." The Untended Graves serve as an example of what happens in a timeline where the First Flame is not rekindled, as demonstrated by the trials of Champion Gundyr.
Champion Gundyr’s Soul Description:

Soul of champion Gundyr. One of the twisted souls, steeped in strength.

Use to acquire many souls, or transpose to extract its true strength.


Once, a champion came late to the festivities, and was greeted by a shrine without fire, and a bell that would not toll.
Ludleth of Courland Dialogue:

Upon finding the Eyes


Ahh. Found her, did we? And the black eyes that shimmer within, I see? Tis as if it were but yesterday. We did all we could to spare her from them. Much has happened since. Mayhap I should apprise thee… Of what the thin light of these eyes might reveal to the eyeless Firekeeper. Scenes of betrayal, things never intended for her ken, visions of… this age’s end...

Selecting “Talk” after finding the Eyes

The eyes show a world destitute of fire, a barren plane of endless darkness. A place born of betrayal. So I will’d myself Lord, to link the fire, to paint a new vision. What is thine intent?
Firekeeper Dialogue:

Selecting “Wish for a world without flame”


Ashen one, forgive me if this soundeth strange. The eyes show a world without fire, a vast stretch of darkness. But ’tis different to what is seen when stripped of vision. In the far distance, I sense the presence of tiny flames. Like precious embers, left to us by past Lords, linkers of the fire. Could this be what draws me to this strangely enticing darkness?”

In his initial encounter, Gundyr's second phase sees him transform into a dark, monstrous entity. However, in the subsequent fight, he remains in his original form throughout, not undergoing any transformation. Upon defeating him, players discover a deceased Firekeeper within the shrine and note the absence of any flame. Another peculiarity of this location is the presence of the Shrine Handmaid, who also appears in the Cemetery of Ash. Strikingly, if players converse with her in the Untended Graves before speaking to her in the Cemetery of Ash, she recognizes them, triggering a unique dialogue.

This suggests that the Untended Graves are set in the past, representing the Cemetery of Ash at an earlier time. The lore supports this with the darkness enveloping the world and the absence of flame, indicating that Gundyr was too late to link the flame. The name "Champion Gundyr" implies that this was Gundyr in his prime. The fact that the Handmaid recognizes you if you spoke to her in the Untended Graves first, and that the Ashen One can access this area despite being in the future, further evidence the convolution of time, aligning with Solaire's statements that "Light is Time."

Furthermore, the narrative of the Ringed City underscores that as the Fire fades, the world begins to collapse inwardly, resulting in the merging of all places and times into the Dreg Heap. This phenomenon illustrates the dramatic effects of the fading Fire on the fabric of time and space.

In the Dark Souls 3 Ringed City DLC, the first NPC you meet is an old lady who’s called the Stone-Humped Hag. She tells us this.
At the close of the Age of Fire, all lands meet at the end of the earth.

Great kingdoms and anaemic townships will be one and the same.

The great tide of human enterprise, all for naught.

That’s why I’m so taken by this grand sight.

This must be what it’s like to be a god.

This is very clearly seen by the Dreg Heap itself, which is just a mess of buildings and lands from places of Dark Souls past.
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If you observe closely, you can recognize some buildings amidst the chaos that are significant locations from earlier in the game, such as the Grand Archives and the High Wall of Lothric. The hag mentions that this confluence of places and times occurs at the end of the Age of Fire, suggesting that while the First Flame may not be completely extinguished, it is certainly fading. This indicates that the extinguishing of the First Flame leads to the collapse of spatial dimensions.

Moreover, as the First Flame dims, it appears to extinguish all the stars, plunging everything into darkness. It is consistently observed that places devoid of light are also distorted in both time and space. This reinforces the concept within Dark Souls that Light itself is synonymous with Time.

There is also evidence for other worlds/timelines existing. There is Solaire’s dialogue.
The flow of time itself is convoluted, with heroes centuries old phasing in and out.

The very fabric wavers, and relations shift and obscure.

There’s no telling how much longer your world and mine will remain in contact.

But, use this, to summon one another as spirits,
cross the gaps between the worlds, and engage in jolly co-operation!

Here is the Eye of Death’s description.
Lure phantoms from other worlds.

(Only Covenanter can use the item while Hollows cannot)

The dreadful Eyes of Death spread disaster across neighboring worlds. Phantoms lured to the host world may end up as victims, allowing the Eyes of Death to multiply, and leading to further proliferation of bane.

Further evidence of connected worlds can be seen in the item descriptions for online play.

Invaders: Invaders like Paladin Leeroy and Kirk, Knight of Thorns, leave behind corpses in your world when defeated. By killing their phantoms, you strip them of their humanity, causing them to hollow and perish.

Summons: Characters such as Paladin Leeroy and Witch Beatrice are summoned from the distant past, illustrating the distortion of time. The appearance of Beatrice's corpse in your world may be linked to her originally planned storyline.

Invading: By using the Black Eye Orb, the player can invade NPCs like Lautrec of Carim and Shiva of the East. This mechanic showcases the separation and reconnection of previously linked worlds.

Messages: Across Lordran, various developer messages, identifiable by an icon of Oscar of Astora, are accessible through the Seek Guidance miracle, further emphasizing the theme of interconnected realms.

The Dark Souls 2 Game Guide suggests that Ornstein in that game is from another timeline.
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It appears that we still haven’t seen the last of Lord Gwyn’s mighty knights – Dragonslayer Ornstein appears before us once more. But this time, he’s alone, and something seems… odd. Instead of the lightning powers that he once possessed, he attacks with the power of Darkness. Is this truly the same proud knight we faced in Lordran so long ago? If so, the flow of time is distorted, indeed. If not, then where else could this Old Dragonslayer have come from?” — Dark Souls II Collector’s Edition Guide

The Repair Weapon spell utilizes light to reverse an object's time, illustrating the game's theme of temporal collapse—exemplified by the Dreg Heap, where the world disintegrates on multiple levels, including temporally.
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As the First Flame wanes, it fractures the world into various spacetimes, each inhabited by different versions of the game’s player characters.

Overall, the Dark Souls universe comprises stars, the sun, and Earth. The First Flame not only initiated time but also sustains it. Multiple timelines exist, with each world featuring a unique historical narrative influenced by player choices, which may not overlap with the narratives in other players' worlds. However, these worlds are interconnected, allowing for interaction and convergence.

Demon's Souls might be a parallel to Dark Souls.
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Dark Souls - Souls = Energy New
In Dark Souls, leveling up requires players to accumulate souls and interact with a specific character to convert these souls into player strength. In Dark Souls 2, the character named the Emerald Herald is used for leveling, while in the original Dark Souls, players simply use the Bonfire for this purpose.

As the Fire Keeper describes during the leveling up screen.
Let these souls, withdrawn from their vessels,

Manifestations of disparity

Elucidated by fire,

Burrow deep within me,

Retreating to a darkness beyond the reach of flame,

Let them assume a new master,


Inhabiting ash, casting themselves upon new forms.

The Fire Keeper refers to the souls finding a new master, the Ashen One, who gains strength by absorbing these souls.

In Dark Souls 2, during your second encounter with the Emerald Herald, she says the following.
Bearer of the curse, seek misery.

For misery will lead you to greater, stronger souls.

You will never meet the King with a soul so frail and pallid.

Here, the Emerald Herald explicitly instructs the Bearer of the Curse to seek out and acquire "stronger souls," highlighting that souls possess inherent value and vary in potency. This variability is clearly demonstrated through the soul items collected across the three games; for instance, a fading soul yields 50 souls, whereas a boss soul, such as that of Darkeater Midir, provides 20,000 souls.

Below are additional quotes from the Emerald Herald that emphasize the varying values of souls:
Seek those whose names are unutterable, the four endowed with immense souls.


Their souls will serve as beacons.

Once you have found them, return here to me.

So that hope will not fade away.

Bearer of the curse…

Seek souls. Larger, more powerful souls.

Seek the King, that is the only way.

Lest this land swallow you whole… As it has so many others.

Your soul is still frail and pallid…

If you proceed regardless, your fate will be more terrible than mere life or death.

But I will not stop you, if that is your heart’s desire.

The Lordvessel and the descriptions from the Lord Souls proves souls vary in power.
Lordvessel:

Lordvessel bestowed upon the chosen Undead who is destined to succeed Lord Gwyn. The chosen Undead is granted the art of warping between bonfires.

To open the final door, place this vessel on the Firelink Altar, and fill it with powerful souls.
Soul of Gwyn:

Soul of Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight

and Cinder, who linked the First Flame.

Lord Gwyn bequeathed most of his power to the

Gods, and burned as cinder for the First

Flame, but even so, Lord Gwyn’s soul

is a powerful thing indeed.
Soul of Gravelord Nito:

Soul of Gravelord Nito, first of the dead. This Lord Soul was discovered at the dawn of the Age of Fire.

Gravelord Nito administers the death of all manner of beings. The power of his soul is so great that it satiates the Lordvessel, despite the fact that much of its energy has already been offered to death.
Soul of the Bed of Chaos:

Soul of the Bed of Chaos and the mother of all demons. This Lord Soul was found at the dawn of the Age of Fire.

The Witch of Izalith attempted to duplicate the First Flame from a soul, but instead created a distorted being of chaos and fire. Its power formed a bed of life which would become the source of all demons, and is more than enough to satiate the Lordvessel.
Soul of Ornstein:

Soul of Ornstein, Dragonslayer Knight who guards the cathedral in the forsaken city of Anor Londo.

Special beings have special souls. Lord Gwyn granted this soul to his four most trusted knights.

Use to acquire a large amount of souls, or to create a unique weapon.
 
Dark Souls - The First Flame New
Some lore stuff about the First Flame.
"But in time the First Fire occurred, and Disparity was brought about together with the fire. Heat and cold, life and death, and, of course, light and dark."Dark Souls Narrator - original Japanese text.

Linking the fire involves using your soul to fuel the First Flame, thereby preventing the end of the Age of Fire.
Soul of the Lords:

One of the twisted souls, steeped in strength.

Use to acquire numerous souls, or transpose to extract its true strength.

Since Lord Gwyn, the first Lord of Cinder, many exalted lords have linked the First Flame, and it is their very souls that have manifested themselves as defender of the flame.

Lords of Cinder sustain the First Flame with their souls, which in turn maintains the sun's existence. In the ending of Dark Souls 1, the Chosen Undead rekindles the dwindling First Flame, causing it to surge outward. As previously mentioned, the Ashen One must gather enough strength to reignite the First Flame, using their own soul as fuel. It is crucial to recognize that the user's soul serves as fuel because, in this series, everything is powered by souls.



A similar example is The Orb of Entremis.
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The Orb operates by using the user's soul to forge realities. Similarly, sufficiently powerful souls can sustain the First Flame until it needs rekindling. Gwyn exemplifies how the act of kindling the First Flame correlates with overall power. He channels the energy of his soul into the sun by linking the flame. Remarkably, even after a thousand years, his soul is still recognized for its immense power.
Kingseeker Frampt: “Heavens! You have done it! You have retrieved the Lordvessel! After a thousand years! It is you, it is really you! Hraaaoogggh! … Forgive me. I really should calm down. Now, let us take that vessel on a journey. I assume you are ready. Now, be still!”
Soul of Gwyn:

Soul of Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight

and Cinder, who linked the First Flame.

Lord Gwyn bequeathed most of his power to the

Gods, and burned as cinder for the First

Flame, but even so, Lord Gwyn’s soul

is a powerful thing indeed.

Light (Time) has ties to the very fabric of the fundamental laws of the world and beyond.
Lost sorcery from Oolacile, land of ancient golden sorceries. Distorts light in order to deflect magic.

A closely-guarded light manipulation spell that contorts the very fabric of fundamental laws, negating magic by denying its claim to physicality.
 
Dark Souls - Painted Worlds and The Dark Soul New
Painted Worlds are alternate dimensions accessible through paintings, with only two known examples: the worlds of Ariamis and Ariandel. This section focuses on Ariandel, as it is most pertinent for scaling. In Ariandel's World, the realm is periodically consumed by fire to allow for rebirth. The Dark Soul, a fragment of the Lord Souls spawned by the First Flame and distributed as humanity, is sought to create a new world.
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It is revealed that the Dark Soul possesses the essential power to craft a Painted World. The artist of the next iteration uses this "pigment" to depict a cold, dark world on canvas, offering an escape from the existing Painted World.
The Painter:

“…Ashen One, thy gift of flame has taken root. And Uncle Gael will soon bring the pigment. Pigment coloured like the dark soul of man. I wonder if Uncle Gael has found it? The pigment coloured like the dark soul of man.”

“My thanks, Ashen One. With this will I paint a world. Please tell me thy name. I would name this painting after thee.”

“My thanks. I will paint a world of that name. Twill be a cold, dark, and very gentle place. And one day, it will make someone a goodly home.”
Blood of the Dark Soul:

Blood of the dark soul that seeped from the hole within Slave Knight Gael.

Used as pigment by his lady in Ariandel to depict a painted world.

When Gael came upon the pygmy lords, he discovered that their blood had long ago dried, and so consumed the dark soul.

The Painted World presents an alternative reality to the main world of Dark Souls, which suffers as the Abyss slowly overtakes the Flame, leading to the world's decay into cinders due to the unnaturally prolonged Age of Fire. This is a period inherently tied to the Flame, gradually converting the world to ash as it extends.

Conversely, the Painted World is a realm where the Flame counters the "rot," a stagnation stemming from its origins in "paint" — likely made from the blood of souls, akin to the "blood of the dark soul." This substance, initially fluid, gradually dries, symbolizing the Flame's advancing influence. The Painted World acts as a mirror to the Dark Souls universe, where creating realities is commonplace, as demonstrated by the Orb of Entremis.
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According to the Dark Souls Trilogy Compendium, Painted Worlds are distinct dimensions, with Ariandel notably featuring a source of light in the sky, as illustrated in the Dark Souls Design Book.
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The Dark Soul, instrumental in crafting this world, is on par with the other Lord Souls. By the end of Dark Souls 1, the Chosen Undead aligns with these powers, possessing three different complete or nearly complete Lord Souls: the Lord Souls of Light (Gwyn), Death (Nito), and Fire (Witch of Izalith).
 
Dark Souls - Mistranslations New
It's important to recognize that linking the flame is not possible without sufficient strength. Yhorm attempted this, but his soul lacked the necessary power, resulting in the flame consuming both him and his entire kingdom. The Unkindled, such as the Ashen One, are those who previously attempted to link the flame and failed.
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Similarly, the Abyss Watchers had to combine their souls to link the fire collectively. Additionally, it's worth noting that Gwyn's title is not truly "Lord of Cinder," but more accurately "Lord of Fuel," which underscores the notion that substantial power is required to sustain the flame.
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The First Flame is pivotal in sustaining the Sun, as depicted in Dark Souls 3. When the Flame fades, the Sun diminishes as well. The Dark Souls Compendium confirms that the First Flame created all heat and light. Given that stars exist in the Dark Souls universe and light equates to time, the absence of the Flame means all light sources, including stars, fade, causing time to unravel and different worlds or timelines to merge. This phenomenon also leads to the compression of space, as evidenced by the Dreg Heap. There has been some ambiguity over whether the 'other worlds' mentioned throughout the trilogy are different eras of the same timeline or entirely separate worlds. However, in the original Japanese text, Solaire's discussions about other worlds use the word “世界” (sekai), meaning "world." The white sign soapstone uses “他世界” (tasekai), translating to "other worlds." Furthermore, Miyazaki's use of "sekai" in describing Solaire's actions in his own world reinforces that Solaire is from a different world, not merely a different era.

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The exact number of timelines connected to the First Flame is unknown, but the Dark Souls Compendium treats the First Flame as singular. It is quite plausible that this Flame sustains both time and heat across a multiverse. Chosen Undead might be comparable in power to the Soul of Cinder. They elicited a more significant reaction from the First Flame when kindling it compared to the Ashen One, particularly since the flame in Dark Souls 3 is overall weaker.



The Soul of Cinder is an amalgamation of every individual who has ever linked the flame.
The Soul of Cinder is the manifestation of all Lords of Cinder that have pledged to defend the First Flame by linking it.

It's worth noting that "Soul of Cinder" may not be the most accurate name. A more fitting title would be "Avatar of Lords" or "Incarnation of Lords (Kings)."
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This Avatar embodies all the powers of the previous Lords, including Gwyn.
Since Lord Gwyn, the first Lord of Cinder, many exalted lords have linked the First Flame, and it is their very souls that have manifested themselves as defender of the flame.
 
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OtherGalaxy

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It's important to recognize that linking the flame is not possible without sufficient strength. Yhorm attempted this, but his soul lacked the necessary power, resulting in the flame consuming both him and his entire kingdom. The Unkindled, such as the Ashen One, are those who previously attempted to link the flame and failed.

hard disagree on this. Yhorm didn’t lack strength, he is very explicitly a Lord of Cinder. The Profaned Flame already existed before Yhorm became a Lord, and his Cinders explicitly say he became one to put it to rest.
Lonely Yhorm became a Lord of Cinder to put the Profaned Flame to rest, knowing full well that those who spoke of him as lord were quite insincere.
https://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Cinders+of+a+Lord
The Abyss Watchers circumvented any requirement like this by linking it together, and Ludleth who is by his own admission weaker than the other Lords (including Yhorm), is still very much a legitimate Lord of Cinder. Yhorm linked the flame, and if he was somehow too weak it would mean Ludleth could then hunt him down instead of us. The whole reason the Ashen One and other Unkindled are doing this is because the First Flame is out of options as the Lords it brings back all renege on the deal. There's no item descriptions that indicate anything went wrong at the Profaned Capitol because he lacked strength, and Ludleth proves the idea that strength is not necessarily a prerequisite, although he seems to be suffering immensely because of it.

The game does contradict itself on the timeframe of the Profaned Flame though, but again there's no indication it has anything to do with a lack of strength whether it appeared after Yhorm linked the fire, or before. The fact it only killed humans and not Yhorm as well is suspect, and all of Yhorm's items highlight his tremendous strength as a one man/giant army.


Pyromancy deriving from the Profaned Flame.

Engulfs foes at range and burns them to ashes.

The Profaned Capital was consumed by fire after Yhorm the Giant became a Lord of Cinder. The fire, born of the sky, is said to have incinerated naught but human flesh.
https://darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com/Profaned+Flame
 

OtherGalaxy

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You can make a case for star level (the blacksmith's tale link above stating the first flame made the sun really nails it together) but if you ignore that iirc Chaos got country level for Nameless King's storm, and NK is a mid-high tier at best.

There's other stuff not really applicable to DC but impressive nonetheless like Manus' Abyss continuing to suck up kingdoms all over the world for millennia after he had died.
 
Someone on imgur did manage to calc Ashen One evading the beams of light. But since I don't know how to do calcs, not sure if it's accurate.

Ashen One is 273 px and 1.913m
Light movement in 1 frame: 495.89 px and 3.4748629m
Video runs at 30 FPS, meaning
Light speed in game: 104.245 m/s
Average stride length is 0.43x your height, and the Ashen One takes about 4 strides a second while running
Ashen One Running Speed: 1.913 * 0.43 * 4 = 3.29036 m/s
Ratio and Ashen One Speed: 3.15%c Sub-Relativistic

These beams should be similar in speed to the Pillars of Divine Light, as that technique is obtained from the Angels, and these beams are fired from them while looking similar
 
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OtherGalaxy

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New crackhead theory dropped

I'm still 100% on the Melina is the Gloam-Eyed Queen train, but god damn the connection between Melina putting the player to sleep and them waking up in Farum Azula....what's going on here

Miquella/St. Trina=Dreams/Sleep
Melina & Ranni=Mirrored spirits in some way, both appear in same spirit mist, both can put people to sleep, both are connected to Torrent.
Torrent=Miquella's former steed

What the hell is going on here? I can almost get the Miquella/Melina connections, but then why is Ranni so closely tied to both? By all indications in the game, she never met either of them.

My current Melina/GEQ theory is mostly based on the Blade of Calling
Dagger given to one who set out on a journey to fulfill her duty long ago. The power of its former owner, the kindling maiden, is still apparent.

The one who walks alongside flame, Shall one day meet the road of Destined Death.
It's well known Melina is also connected to the night of black knives, but why was she seemingly intended or fated to encounter Destined Death? Given all signs point to her being Marika's daughter, this may be a reach, but I think the Gloam-Eyed Queen was more or less intentional, not some kind of surprise figure that rivalled Marika. At the very least Marika had every intention of her daughter commandeering Destined Death. We know she betrayed Maliketh, so this would explain that. The Godskins' subsequent massacre of the gods may not have actually been intentional on Marika's part, but then would have served as the model on which Godwyn's death was orchestrated (by Ranni, but again there's ties between the Black Knives and Marika, so something was going on there too).

Melina is burned as punishment, loses her memories (she doesn't seem to know what a mother or being born of one even is), and persists as a spirit the same way Ranni and Miquella have after shedding their flesh.
 

OtherGalaxy

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New Miyazaki interview for Shadow of the Erdtree just dropped. It's in Chinese, so I am just using google chrome's auto translate to pull quotes until a real translator looks through it. As such this tl is extremely rough
https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/694720699
The large-scale DLC "Shadow of the Golden Tree" for "Elden's Circle" will be released on June 21. This is the only additional content for "Elden's Circle" since its release two years ago, and according to public information, its size will also be the largest DLC since the founding of Fromsoftware.
-no more DLC for ER
-largest DLC From has ever made, so bigger than Old Hunters or the Ringed City
A: In fact, we already had relevant ideas when developing the game itself. "Elden Ring" was developed based on the mythology created by Mr. George R.R. Martin. At that time, we felt that the volume was too large and it was difficult to fit it all into the main body. Therefore, these contents are not deliberately arranged in DLC, but are already existing parts.
More confirmation this storyline was already planned for the original game, but could not be fit into it.
Q: Does the DLC have two goals?

A: In fact, it is similar to the main body. Entering the DLC during the second round of the main body is equivalent to the difficulty level of the second round of the DLC. Of course, there will also be many hidden elements. Perhaps content that was not discovered in the first episode will give you new experiences in the second episode.
Weird TL here but implied the DLC will help us understand things that we couldn't find in the base game? Or something?
A: I feel that my answer to the question of duration is not appropriate - before the release of "Elden's Ring", I revealed in an interview that it would take about 30 hours to complete the game, but after it was released, everyone said that I was lying. In fact, Not enough at all! As developers, we will definitely continue to experience the game. We are too skilled, so the duration has no reference value. As for the order of play, everyone can play according to their preferences. There is no strict order. If anything, we recommend starting to experience the DLC after playing the second half of this chapter, and then returning to this chapter to complete the game. Because if you clear this chapter first, you will go directly to the second chapter, and there is no way to directly connect to the DLC.
Need a clearer TL here, not sure what he means exactly other than the DLC's timeline doesn't cleanly mesh with the main story (in the same way that something like Farum Azula has to happen near the end of the storyline for example)
Q: Will the DLC resolve any plot concerns, or will it bring more new content worthy of discussion?

A: Some of the mysteries left by the main body will be answered. As for whether it will bring more new pitfalls on this basis, I cannot guarantee that overall, through DLC, we will have a deeper understanding of the world view and game story.
Some base game mysteries will be answered.
Q: In the concept drawing of "Shadow of the Golden Tree", there are many things similar to curtains appearing in the background of the broken golden tree. What are the meanings of these curtains? At the end of the promotional video, with Michaela raising her hand, why did these curtains disappear again?

A: We hope to make players feel that "Land of Shadows" and "Borderland" are physically separated and sealed worlds. As for the part where the curtain disappears, it is not convenient to reveal it yet. It can be said that the reason why the broken "shadow tree" in the picture is designed in this way is to present the look and feel of "this is a world where the will is distorted and gradually collapses."
More on the Shadowed Land being sealed away from the Lands Between. That last line is strange. Curious how that plays out.
Q: Will there be new forces appearing in the DLC? Do the factions in this article, such as the Stars and Two Fingers, still have influence in the world of "Shadowlands"?

A: It depends on how you define "power". Of course there will be new groups, and on this basis some of the organizations in this article will be further completed.
Interviewer asks about groups like the stars, Miyazaki says that some organizations in the base game will be more fleshed out.

Q: Are there NPC characters that we are all familiar with? Will the new characters in the DLC return to the main game?

A: There will be many new characters that are independent of this chapter, but generally NPCs that "appear directly" will not return to this chapter. The reason is that if it is designed like this, there may be situations where the player kills the NPC in this chapter, resulting in him/her not being able to appear in the DLC story. Of course, some characters that we know indirectly, such as the familiar Mikaela, will definitely appear throughout the story.
Miyazaki saying generally old NPCs won't be in the DLC makes me wonder if that's leaving room for one or more specific examples of a return. No clue who though. Hopefully Melina's there.
Q: There are two very similar-looking items in the main game, "Michaela's Water Lily" and "Torina's Water Lily". We all know Michaela, so will there be a role for Torina in the DLC? What is her relationship with Michaela?

A: The identities of Mikaela and Torina have caused a lot of discussion after the release of the main game. They can be regarded as different existences, but we don’t want to reveal the specific relationship yet, and we hope everyone can explore it on their own. What can be said is that Torina will indeed appear in the DLC, and the relationship between the two will be further explained.
This is one of the only direct answers I've ever seen Miyazaki give. He defines Miquella and St. Trina as unique existences, but that Trina will be in the dlc and their relationship will be explored. Since he also stated Empyreans are multifaceted beings, this may help explain Radagon and Marika's situation as well.
Q: Will the ending chosen by the player in the main story have a different impact on the narrative of the DLC? Does the DLC have multiple endings?

A: DLC is an independent existence, so the player's choice in this article will not affect the DLC story. As for the ending, there is actually no so-called "end" or "end". Of course, the DLC will not have as many endings as the main body, but players will still have to face some "choices" during the game.
Last time he said there would be a clear ending for the DLC, just not a new ending for the game itself, so I wonder if this is translation weirdness? Though multiple ways to end the dlc itself would be new for Fromsoft.
Q: The prerequisite for entering the DLC is to defeat "Shatterstar Ratan" and "Blood King Monger". Defeating Monger is easy to understand. After all, the entrance to the DLC is behind him. So what is the setting for defeating Latarn?

A: From a plot perspective, players will understand it after experiencing the DLC, so there will be no spoilers here. From the perspective of the game design itself, considering that everyone generally defeats Latarn first, and then faces Monger, we have made such a restriction.

Killing Radahn is confirmed to be for lore reasons related to the DLC. Near 100% chance he was fucking up the sun and Miquella's eclipse then at this rate. For powerscaling this is the biggest and most important new information revealed so far. If Radahn really was interfering with the sun, that's the nail in the coffin regarding the star level scaling.
 

OtherGalaxy

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Seen some people speculating it's more related to Miquella's fate, but I don't think this is the case. Miquella was able to shed his body and golden lineage and escape to the Shadowed Lands. Ranni couldn't do a whole lot besides the Black Knives because of Radahn's meddling, but we're explicitly following Miquella's footsteps here, so he doesn't seem to have the same restrictions she does. He seems to have shed his body in a deeper way than Ranni did according to the exerpts, so I don't think he needs the Fingerslayer Blade or something like that+that would fuck up Ranni's ending and Miyazaki said this dlc won't affect the endings.
 

OtherGalaxy

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also the moon and sun are still visible in the Shadowed Lands, so unless it has its own celestial bodies, which doesn't make sense with how Miyazaki described it, it's likely that whatever happens with the stars in the main universe still carries over to the Shadowed Lands.
 

OtherGalaxy

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Ziostorm's got a vid going through a better Translation now. Mostly the same, but I found it interesting the translations refer to both the Lands Between and the Shadowed Land as "sealed". This would explain why it's called the Lands Between, and why all the gods and cosmic beings are obsessed with this small patch of land, but I wonder if that's intentional or a minor thing missed in translation. Also there's some confusion on the DLC having a clear ending, as someone in the comments said they read the Chinese and it's being misinterpreted, according to them the DLC will have a clear ending (this is what Miyazaki said in the past) but not multiple endings like the base game, though there will be different choices to be made. Radahn being plot relevant to DLC is still confirmed.
 
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