Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-5632187-20130119213241/@comment-95.33.54.190-20150613211136

Matsczon nails it, in my opinion.

Let me add something:

I think "Hollow" is actually all men's (and women's) original form. Look at DS1's intro, you see all those hollows... Even the Furtive Pigmy is one, when he embraces the Dark Soul. Now, Humanity turns you into your "original form" again. Or does it? I think Humanity actually warps beings, infusing them with a tiny part of THE Dark Soul's power (the original humanity). Everything seems to be well, until you absorb too much Humanity or somethin twists is, as seen in Manus, "whose Humanity ran wild".

Truth be told, in a way, I think that plants in every human a tiny seed of evil... Which, to me, explains why Gwyn, a GOD, was afraid of it. We have seen Ooolacile... I think this is what Humanity turns humans into if something goes wrong. I don't think it has to be this way, though, Vendrick and Aldia hint at that. Manus probably had his (extremely awesome pun incoming) hand in this affair.

So, what happened to Gwyn? I don't think he's hollow per se. I think he is "burnt out". Hollow is, in my opinion, a state only Dark-Soul-originated beings can take on. Humans, to call it. I do think that Gwyn and his kin used to be something VERY close to hollow humans in the ancient times, but since they seem to show no compatibility whatsoever with the Dark Soul, they must have been something slightly different. The process, however, should be nearly identical. Gwyn lost all his souls, including his version of Humanity, his unique "Flame Soul" and reverted to his original state again, his own version of a Hollow. Only a minor difference, but an important one, BECAUSE:

DS2 employs a very negative attitude towards Gwyn and his actions. Ignoring him containing the Chaos (though partially responsible, he could also just have left, like Gwynevere) or prolonging the human's current (pretty good) state of existence. He did create the Curse of the Undead, though, which Aldia refers to as "The First Sin". REALLY? Again, we have seen Oolacile. Aldia... Hasn't. We know Humanity can run wild, Gwyn knows Humanity can run wild. Straid states that from the Dark, fires will rise again. Cool. But do we really want to trust in the Dark Soul (Humanity) not running wild in the Age of Dark? Maybe even stopping the cycle and extinguishing the Flame forever? Creating Justin Bieber or God knows what else? Gwyn didn't want to risk that. And I understand that decision and would have probably done the same. Aldia is very biased here, being a human himself, of course. Or a... Blob?

So why am I writing this essay here? Because with the conclusion of the "The Lost Crowns" DLC, we now have an immortal undead who can happily harvest Humanity (granted, it's the same as Effigies, which I actually doubt). We better hope for DS3, that his/her Humanity hasn't run wild. That would be the problem Gwyn feared.

It was not a sin or a curse... It was a sacrifice, in my opinion.