Slave Knight Gael

Slave Knight Gael, also known as Red Hood, is a character in Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel and the final boss in The Ringed City DLC.

Description
Gael wears the Slave Knight Set and is equipped with the Executioner's Greatsword and the Sunset Shield during battles. He is bald and has a large grey beard which reaches down to his chest.

After devouring many Pygmy Lords and absorbing the essence of the Dark Soul, Gael's size increases exponentially. His torso is now larger in comparison to the rest of his body, his chest having a large hole in it, exposing off what appears to be his heart. The clothing of his armor also increases in size, becoming akin to a cape. Gael's Greatsword has been damaged, losing its point and part of the fuller.

Locations

 * He will be found praying before the statue next to the Cleansing Chapel bonfire in the Cathedral of the Deep.
 * He can be summoned for the second phase of the Sister Friede boss fight in the Painted World of Ariandel. (Ashes of Ariandel)
 * Can be summoned for the Demon Prince boss fight in The Dreg Heap, near the Within the Earthen Peak Ruins bonfire. (The Ringed City)
 * Finally he can be found at the end of the Ringed City near Filianore's Rest as a Boss.

Lore
Believed to reside in the painting, he acted as some parental figure to The Painter, who calls him her uncle. It is believed that he departed the painting after The Painter was locked away, taking the rotted remains of the physical portal with him, attempting to find another Ashen One to complete the prophecy that would burn away the rotted world so that The Painter could replace it.

Unable to find one, he travels to the Cathedral of the Deep, praying for divine aid in his mission. When he encounters the Champion, he is overjoyed to have completed his search, and requests the Ashen One to free The Painter and show her the flame that would burn the rot. Once they come into contact with the piece of the painting, the Ashen One is pulled into the painted world.

In the fight with Ariandel and Friede, the flame is reignited, and The Painter comments that she will wait until she can see it before beginning the painting. To do that, she needs the pigment she intends to use, which she reveals to be the Dark Soul itself, discovered by the Furtive Pygmy and used to create all of humankind. She also mentions that Gael intended to get it for her, for he has set out on a new mission to find it, and she wonders whether or not he has found it already.

Gael's mission to find the Dark Soul leads him to the Ringed City where he finally meets the Pygmy Lords who's blood would apparently serve as a suitable pigment. However to his shock, their blood has dried out over the ages and is therefore useless to him. Driven mad by this revelation and determined to complete his mission, Gael slaughters the Pygmies and cannibalizes them in a desperate attempt to take the Dark Soul for himself, causing him to grow in size and warp his mind.

When the Ashen One finally reunites with Gael, he has been fully corrupted by the Dark Soul and demands their portion of it, attacking them in a rage when they refuse. As the fight progresses, he becomes more and more animalistic and feral until he is finally struck down, allowing the Ashen One to obtain his blood to use as a pigment.

Questline
Upon arrival to the Cleansing Chapel, he will be found beside the altar, but praying instead to another object of reverence. Noticing the player, he will ask if they would show his lady flame. If the player says no, he will ignore your refusal until you agree, playing a cutscene wherein he will produce a fragment of the painting for the player to enter.

Fight overview
When encountered as a boss, Gael appears monstrous and his moves mirror his beastly nature, he does high amounts of damage and can endure some significant punishment himself. Key to this battle is his poise, he can be staggered but not riposted, the player should pay close attention to how many hits it takes to stagger him (usually three with great weapons), and act accordingly, if this weakness exploited correctly he can be stunned out of his hard-hitting combos in the second phase.

Once a third of his HP has been depleted he transitions into his second phase, in which he abandons his previously bestial stance in moves in a very human manner. at this point he also gains new moves and starts using his Repeating Crossbow and a special version of the Way of White Corona. Attacks with his sword are followed by his damaging cape so dodging towards him is recommended to avoid getting hit after finishing a roll. Once two thirds of his HP have been depleted he transitions into his third phase. At the start of this phase, and throughout the rest of the fight, he will stand still momentarily before releasing a number of slow-moving homing projectiles. Lightning will also begin to strike the arena, and will be preceded by the lightnings point of contact glowing light blue. The lightning itself does relatively little damage, but when paired with Gael's attacks can be devastating. Many of his combos also gain new attacks at the end.

Trivia

 * The Painter refers to Gael as "uncle".
 * The Japanese text clarifies that Gael is not her uncle biologically, but rather that he is a paternal-like figure to her.
 * Given his armor and his name, he could have once been an undead soldier who went mad from his bondage and was drawn into the painting.
 * The hollowed soldiers of Farron, called the Followers, entered the world in this manner, so it is not so unlikely that Gael had a similar experience.
 * He is first met praying to the "merciful goddess, mother of the Forlorn" in the Cleansing Chapel, but whom exactly that is remains uncertain. The most likely candidates are Velka and the painting's original mistress Priscilla.
 * Gael's beard is unique to him and is not available as an option when creating the player's character.
 * Out of any boss from Dark Souls III, and possibly from the entire franchise, Gael has the biggest boss arena, his being a completely explorable desert-like place.
 * Aspects of the fight reference both the Knight Artorias fight, with an Abyss-tainted fallen knight throwing an enemy impaled on a greatsword at the player, as well as Ludwig the Accursed from Bloodborne, with a more bestial enemy transforming more upright by using their old weapon's enhanced form.
 * The way Gael moves and fights on the first phase is very similar to how Guts, from Berserk, does when using the Berserker Armor. In the second phase, the Repeating Crossbow is also reminiscent of Guts' Repeater Crossbow and the way he hides and follows his attacks with a cape.
 * Gael could be considered the final boss of the Dark Souls franchise as a whole.