The Hunt: Dark Souls 1 - Introduction & Prologue

This post introduces the series and covers the prologue cinematics & basic lore of the world. The next post will release on November 3rd, and will cover the Northern Undead Asylum and Firelink Shrine.

Introduction

Before we dive into Dark Souls in earnest, I would like to briefly explain a couple of fundamental rules of the Dark Souls universe.

via darksouls.wikidot.com

Souls & Humanity are tangible objects: While the soul and humanity are abstract concepts in our world, in Dark Souls these are actual objects. Souls are something that can be taken or given. They are used as a form of currency in Dark Souls, and can be taken from slain enemies. Souls can be broken into pieces or made up of many lesser Souls. Souls are also an indication of how powerful someone is, and especially powerful Souls grant god-like power. Humanity is a piece of a unique Soul, but that will be touched upon more below.

via darksouls.wikidot.com

Undead are like zombies, but not really: A mark called the Darksign appears on some humans upon death. Instead of remaining dead, they rise again, but missing their Humanity, These creatures are called Undead. They are fated to die over and over again, returning to the last bonfire they rested at. This will continue until they lose the will to live, at which point they will go hollow. This is the fate of the Undead.

The bonfires in Dark Souls are not ordinary fires: These special bonfires are connected to the First Flame (which will be explained below). They are found throughout the world in Dark Souls and are fueled by the bones of the Undead. The Undead find refuge at the bonfires. They rest and draw Estus from them, a liquid that allows them to heal their wounds.

via twinfinite.net

The bonfires are tended to by the firekeepers. They are corporeal manifestations of their bonfire, women brimming with infinite humanity that gnaws at their souls. The Estus Flasks are linked with the soul of the firekeepers.

If you're new to the series this may come across as a lot to process right now, but it will ultimately make understanding the lore and story of Dark Souls much easier. I've put off the prologue long enough, so let's get into it!

Prologue

This synopsis covers the lore introduced by the prologue cinematic as well as some of the basic lore of Dark Souls. 

The game starts by telling the mythology of Dark Souls. It all starts in the Age of Ancients, in which the world is unformed and covered in a grey landscape of fog and arch trees. The inhabitants of the primordial world were the everlasting dragons. This entropic grey world had no contrast or disparity of any kind.

But then there was fire.

The Fire brought heat and cold. life and death, and of course...Light and Dark. Note that Light and Dark are capitalized, which not only means that we are squarely in the Realm of Fantasy, but also implies these as being more than the elements as we know them. Light and Dark are elements containing power that can be harnessed.

From the Dark, They came, and found the Souls of Lords within the flame. Deep below the crags and arch trees, shriveled and emaciated humanoid forms rose from the shadows and approached the underground conflagration of the Fire. If your eye tripped up on "They", good catch. Sometimes in English the pronouns of deities are capitalized to signify importance, especially in Christianity. In this scenario "They" are:

Nito, the first of the dead,

The Witch of Izalith, and her daughters of chaos

Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, and his faithful knights,

And the furtive pygmy, so easily forgotten.

The Fire, the source of Light, had within it the Strength of Lords, elevating these individuals from pathetic lifeforms to god-like beings who get their pronouns capitalized. With this power, Nito, the Witch of Izalith, Gwyn the Lord of Sunlight, and their followers challenge the everlasting dragons. They received help from the dragon Seath the Scaleless, who betrayed his own kind. Their combined power tore the everlasting dragons apart, and they were no more.

Thus began the Age of Fire.

The gods, granted power by the Fire built and reigned over a mighty civilization in a land called Lordran. The gods and their families reigned in this way for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. However, the flame began to fade, along with the power that it granted. This is where the story begins. The Age of Fire is coming to a close as the Fire dwindles to embers, and soon only Dark will remain. 

Speaking of Dark, I almost forgot the furtive pygmy. While the other Lords were waging war against the everlasting dragons, the furtive pygmy (furtive means acting in secret, surreptitious) did what its name suggests, and acted in secret. But what is it that the furtive pygmy did? 

The furtive pygmy found a unique Soul in the Age of Ancients, the Dark Soul. Instead of keeping the power of the Dark Soul to themselves, the furtive pygmy divided the Dark Soul into fragments. The bearers of these fragments are humans, and the fragment of the Dark Soul that dwells within every human is called humanity.

As the Fire fades, the accursed Darksign can be seen among the living. Those with the Darksign do not stay dead, and instead rise again and again until they go hollow. Undead who become hollow are vicious creatures devoid of hope or sanity, and without a cure, is the ultimate fate of all Undead.

Community Content

Videos:
Dark Souls Lore...(title altered to avoid spoilers) by EpicNameBro on Youtube
Discusses the furtive pygmy and the Dark Soul, as well as other topics relating to the ending of Dark Souls (Massive spoilers)

Articles:

Prologue Transcription on darksouls.wikidot.com

My Interpretation of the Opening by EndsAnswersWithYet on  /r/darksouls

Presents an interpretation of the opening in which the events described in the prologue are more figurative than literal. (Spoilers in comments)

A Look at the Metaphysics of the Dark Souls Universe by Geminel  on /r/darksouls.
Discusses the nature of Light, Dark, Souls and the ramifications of the fading Fire. (Minor spoilers/spoilers in comments)
Dark Souls and Mythology by Old Lion on destructoid.com
Discusses various topics relating to the mythology of Dark Souls. (Massive Spoilers)

The Beginning and Lordran Now, An Introduction to Dark Souls Lore by KieraDieHund
Discusses the significance of each Lord Soul and their relation to Light and Dark. (Minor spoilers, spoilers past the first two sections)

Podcasts:

Episode 1: Basics, Asylum, and Firelink by Bonfireside Chat
Introduces the basics of Dark Souls, covering the lore and game play of the opening and first two areas. (This episode covers the content of this post and the next post)

Other Recommended Content:
Episode 1: Expectations by Twin Humanities
Introductions and background with the Souls games. The start of a co-op Let's Play that is handled in podcast discussions on the gameplay and story.
Timely Tips for Dark Souls Beginners by Andrew Clouther on Gamezone.com
An article with basic tips for those just coming to Dark Souls.

Additional Thoughts

The opening cinematic is great. It so concisely and wonderfully presents the complicated mythology of this world and central conflict of the game, and I find myself appreciating it more with each viewing. It is also incredibly important to our understanding not just of Dark Souls 1, but the entire series. In episode 1 of Bonfireside Chat, Kole Ross describes the prologue as "the only indisputable source of truth in the game". I tend to lean toward the opening cinematic being a literal representation of the events that occurred because it is important to have given information when everything else is up to interpretation to some degree. It is interesting to see just how foundational this information really is as the series progresses. It isn't just the narrative beginning of the world, it is also the solid ground upon which we are able to discuss the broader themes of the series and speculate about where the series might go. 

The lore for this post is without a doubt...

Thanks for reading this post! I hope you found it informative and at least mildly entertaining. The next post will cover the Northern Undead Asylum and Firelink Shrine.