Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-108.129.75.244-20130528195600/@comment-4294668-20140317182125

Cindolintoe wrote: Since the game is finally released, I suppose we can say beyond the shadow of a doubt it's a sequel. But (referencing VaatiVidya, here) it HAS to be in the Age of Dark. As the "Which is the Good Ending" video tells us, you either usher in the Age of Dark or temporarily prevent it. Since the game is supposedly 200 years in the future, and the player in the original Dark Souls was the only one capable of postponing the end of the age of Fire, it's highly unlikely they held it off for excess of 2 centuries. Just a personal theory here, but it would add up. I'm just shy of 10 hours in and I haven't found a single item explicitly naming a god, hinting even further to the Age of Dark (seeing as it's ruled by man, not the gods). On the other hand, people certainly do worship the gods, just not by name (Way of Blue). Just my 2¢.

It isn't so fantastic that the Chosen Undead held off the Age of Dark for 2 centuries. It's hinted that Lord Gwyn maintained the fire for a looooong time, and seeing as he's maintaining it in the ruins of the same colosseum we saw in Oolacile long ago, and time is whacky in Dark Souls due to paradoxes/spatial warps, it's safe to assume that Lord Gwyn maintained the flame for an eon. 90% of the places you visit in Dark Souls are falling apart, and it's safe to assume that Gwyndolin's illusory magic keeps Anor Londo all shiny and pretty. The Chosen Undead maintaining the fire for 200 years isn't so far off.

There are gods in Dark Souls II. If you buy the Name-Engraved Ring, you can choose one of 12 (or is it 10?) gods to enscribe on it, each representing some special value or attribute (love, war, dreams). Seeing as the Age of Dark hints at there being literal darkness all over, it would be odd that the people of Dark Souls II live in a mostly vibrant world where there are still sane, not-Hollowed people, and some of them are even human, not carrying the Darksign. The creators mentioned multiple times that the game's story contains a lot of time-warping elements, so maybe this game even takes place at the same time as Dark Souls, as there is a similar sense of urgency with this "special land far away from civilized kingdoms" that the Udnead are flocking to in droves. Also note bosses like the Old Dragonslayer, who is pretty much Ornstein with Abyssal magic and a desperate need for armor buffing (maybe he doesn't know a cleaner in Majula? I'm sure Maughlin would polish that nasty thing). Likewise, the three old women in the beginning are said to have once been Fire Keepers, and if you keep talking Malisabethasomething, she mentions that there are few Fire Keepers left—but not that there are none left at all. She also mentions a fourth sister, who may have been the old woman who narrates the story in the beginning and tells you about Drangleic (so we can assume she lives somewhere else on this planet away from the crazy). Also, when you beat the Lost Sinner, you return to Majula through a "Primal Bonfire", which is a very suspicious name. Also, why is Majula's bonfire the Far Fire? What makes that fire so special? And one of the characters, I don't remember who, mentions a primordial being at one point, which points at either the Primordial Serpents, or one of the older beings like the Furtive Pigmy.

I've only gotten as far as the Shaded Woods, so I'm still investigating. However, the Bluemoon Greatsword is said to have come from a great white being's tail, hinting at Seath, but Maughlin's mention of it being a fake suggests that the legend is old enough for copies of the Moonlight Greatsword to exist.