Board Thread:Dark Souls II/@comment-46.64.182.203-20140312230146/@comment-2.246.80.114-20140322155801

I am a friend of the theory that DS1's Ornstein indeed was an illusion. That's how Gwyndolin remembered him from his glorious days, in a golden armor. Smough, not being the brightest, never realized that it was just an illusion. The real Ornstein had left Anor Londo a long time ago, perhaps he has been to the Abyss and anctually managed to escape, but his magic from then on was Darkness instead of Lightning. Perhaps he lost touch with Ciaran and the others, and traveled to Drangleic, where he survived for a very long time, being one of Vendricks finest warriors. The Dragonriders helped Vendrick build the Kingdom, and perhaps Ornstein was told to keep the dragons under control. Over the years, his armor lost its golden colour, leaving the raw metal behind (Since I doubt it was an armor made of real gold).

That's just how I see it. I really like the idea that everyone's favourite character from Dark Souls 1 was actually an illusion and his real persona was introduced in DS2.