Board Thread:Dark Souls II/@comment-46.64.182.203-20140312230146/@comment-16047389-20140609131859

Jamez He wrote: Note: The Old Dragonslayer doesn't seem to have a Dark Aura like his soul was corrupted by the abyss. Still he uses Dark Magic, maybe that he know's Dark Magic? Throne Defender and Watcher are another part of Manus. I think The Watcher and Defender were more like Velstadt, in that they served the King loyally to the end. I believe that the Defender and Watcher were ordered by Vendrick to keep guard the Throne of Want from anyone trying to claim it, including Nashandra. This is why she neither comes to their aid when the player begins fighting them, or shows up if they dont' have Giant's Kinship. She wants the Throne for herself, and for all obstacles to be cleared prior.

Also, I think the developers messed up when designing the thumbnail image for Nashandra's Soul. It uses the same image that is used for Soul of Artorias, instead of something similar to Soul of Manus. Watcher, Defender, and Velstadt make sense to have the corresponding image, as they are supposed to be Souls that were overwhelmed by the Dark. But if Nashandra is supposed to be a piece of Manus, then her soul should actually be made of Humanity.