Dark Souls Cosmology
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.
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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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.
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.
The First Flame is also noted to be responsible for Time, which is Light.
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.
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.
darksouls.fandom.com
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.
darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com
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.
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.
darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com
Here is the Eye of Death’s description.
darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Blacksmith's Tale: Deciphering Runes in Dark Souls 3
ecently, I visited the FextraLife Dark Souls 3 Wiki to see how many more Titanite Slabs I could expect in my current run of the game. It struck me..."hey,
fextralife.com 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.
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.
Armillary sphere - Wikipedia
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.
The First Flame is also noted to be responsible for Time, which is Light.
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.
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.
The Dreg Heap
For the Dark Souls II location, see Earthen Peak. The Dreg Heap (吹き溜まり Fukidamari, The Drift) is a location in Dark Souls III: The Ringed City. Found at the world's end, the Dreg Heap is the result of the close of the Age of Fire: with the world collapsing in on itself, ancient lands and ancient...
darksouls.fandom.com 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.
Stone-humped Hag | Dark Souls 3 Wiki
Stone-humped Hag is a NPC in Dark Souls 3. Stone-humped Hag location, quests, events, drops, lore and tips for Dark Souls 3.
darksouls3.wiki.fextralife.com 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.
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.
Solaire of Astora | Dark Souls Wiki
Solaire of Astora is an NPC in Dark Souls. Solaire of Astora location, quests, events, drops, lore and tips for DKS and Dark Souls Remastered.
darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com Here is the Eye of Death’s description.
Eye of Death | Dark Souls Wiki
Eye of Death is a multiplayer item in Dark Souls. Eye of Death location, uses, lore, notes and tips for DKS and Dark Souls Remastered.
darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com 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.
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.
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.
