Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-10167444-20130604182628/@comment-121511-20130821005951

I believe it's worth noting that Kaathe resides in the Abyss, and that in order to traverse the Abyss, Sir Artorias "made a covenant with the beasts there". At least personally, this led me to believe that the Abyss was a natural habitat to the Primordial Serpents, and that their reason for hastening the Age of Dark may have been partially self interest/preservation. They are Primordial, which seems to indicate they existed alongside the Ancient Dragons, perhaps calling the dark their home before the first flame was lit.

On the subject of Kaathe and the Darkwraiths, I believe his dialogue line regarding those that served him ("They failed me, every last one of them. They were strong, but saw not the truth. I am certain that you will prove different.") is rather telling. As I see it, though Kaathe was responsible for initially forming the Darkwraiths, the Four Kings and the Darkwraiths of New Londo either misinterpreted his orders or ignored them, possibly out of greed. Following this line of thought, Kaathe is not necessarily evil (though Frampt isn't necessarily evil either), and it is entirely possible that the residents of Oolacile also misinterpreted him and/or were overcome by greed/desperation in regard to unearthing Manus.