Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-5632187-20130119213241/@comment-76.186.10.30-20130626185034

I am a purist when it comes to Dark Souls lore. I very much dislike speculating past things that aren't heavily hinted at. From has said that they designed the story of the game to allow the player to create his or her own story. Some people like to stretch things extremely far (e.g. Manus is the chosen undead, relationship between Seath and Gwynevere, or my personal favorite, ENB's theory that Andre is the firstborn sun), and I like to let things stop at what the world tells us explicitly. It's an insatiable thirst for more lore and more depth that keeps people crafting these theories, so that's by no means a bad thing. With that said:

I think Solaire is the Firstborn Son. There is overwhelming evidence that he is, and a handful of shoddy evidence that he isn't.

I think Manus is the Furtive Pygmy. Being referred to as the primeval human is enough evidence alone. Manus being the father of the Abyss (which is utter darkness), the furtive pygmy and all of man being branded with the darksign and being being born from the dark creates a pervading theme of darkness associated with man/humanity. Manus etymology refers to the hand (a giant one at that), and is analogous to humanity (manuscript - written by hand, manipulate - modify by hand). Kaathe is pro-human and pro age of dark, and (presumably) persuaded Oolacile to release Manus.

In both Solaire and Manus cases, the game is basically screaming at you that they are the Firstborn Sun, and the Furtive Pygmy respectively. To come to the conclusion that they aren't is to really really want to believe that they aren't.