Allfather Lloyd (Japanese: 主神ロイド, Hepburn: Shushin Roido, lit. 'Main God Lloyd') is a mentioned character in Dark Souls and a mentioned character in Dark Souls III.
In-Game Description
- Allfather Lloyd's knights lived in fear of his duels of judgment, in which verdicts were carried out by his Sword of Law.[1]
Lore[]
Dark Souls[]
Allfather Lloyd on the Gold Coin.
Lloyd is one of the members of Gwyn's clan who resided in Anor Londo during the Age of Fire[2]. He was worshiped by the humans as the "god of law and caste"[3]. He is one of the primordial humanoid creatures that appeared underground after the First Flame appeared[4] and was the uncle of Lord Gwyn, implying that he was born before him.[5] After Lord Gwyn sacrificed himself to link the First Flame[6], his throne passed to his firstborn son who, however, chose to "ally" with the dragons, the ancient enemies of the gods, and was therefore exiled and his name eradicated from history[7]. Taking advantage of the situation and thanks to the fact of being Gwyn's uncle, Lloyd rose to power, proclaiming himself "Main God"[8].
Lloyd's Sword of Law.
Lloyd then became the ruling deity of the Way of White and was worshiped by the humans as the god of law and social classes and his face was even minted on the golden coins used by men[9]. After nearly all of the deities had abandoned Anor Londo[10], Lloyd moved his seat of power to the region of Thorolund, which then became the cultural and political center of the Way of White[11]. The god had absolute power over the country and thus chose among the nobles of the region the ones who would become his apostles and high priests of the Way of White, gifting them holy rings to increase their magic and making their duty the protection of law and social classes[12].
Lloyd's Shield of Caste.
Under Lloyd the Way of White became also a militant religion, and Lloyd's cleric knights became famous for being unyielding in battle and using miracles[13]. The god also began a tradition of hunting the Undead, seen as cursed creatures in the world of humans, for which his warrior clerics were widely praised as heroes and for which they developed special amulets that negated the regeneration of the Undead to better fight against their prey[14]. However, Lloyd's own knights lived in terror of their god's judgment, which was often left to short duels[15], demonstrating how in reality Lloyd's government was very authoritarian and that his "law" was nothing more than cheap and quick violence.
Dark Souls III[]
The miracle of the last worshippers of Lloyd.
When Gwyndolin emerged from hiding[16] and took his place as "Main God"[17] thanks to his direct descent from the previous king Gwyn he also assumed command of the Way of White and became its main deity. The religion went through a major reform[18] and Lloyd was cast out and his personal cult forgotten by the followers of the Way of White[19], so much so that now the clerics of Carim openly declare that he was a "side relation" to Gwyn and that his title of ruling deity was self-proclaimed and unrighteous when a son of the previous king was still alive[3]. His only legacy were the talismans that his knights used to hunt the Undead and that remained in use[20]
Some of the dethroned god's followers, now cast out as heretics, would find refuge in the Painted World of Ariandel[21], bringing with them the lost miracles of the old religion and fully believing that one day the aureoles of light associated with Lloyd would return with him[22].
Artifacts[]
- Gold Coin
- Lloyd's Talisman
- Lloyd's Talisman (Dark Souls II)
- White Seance Ring
- Lloyd's Sword Ring
- Lloyd's Shield Ring
- Undead Hunter Charm
- Duel Charm
Trivia[]
- Given his title of "guardian of law and caste" it is possible that humans turned to him for matters of justice and social regulations.
- Lloyd's title uses the kanji "主神" that can be literally translated as "Main God" or "Chief Deity", confirming how Lloyd used his status as uncle of the previous king to take Gwyn's role after he linked the fire, as Gwyn's firstborn was exiled and Gwyndolin was still remaining adherent to his identity as a daughter.
- In Norse mythology, one of the several names of chief god Odin is "Alföðr" which means "Allfather" or "Father of All".[23] Allfather Lloyd's title seems to mean the same or even been inspired by it.
- It should be noted that he was the uncle of Gwyn. This implies that he had at least one sibling, who then copulated with another humanoid to produce Gwyn.
- Who Gwyn' biological "parents" were, is unknown. However, since a lot of time passed since the humanoid creatures that found the Lord Souls near the First Flame emerged on the surface to fight the Dragons, it can be implied that those creatures evolved into a civilization with their relationships (see Opening (Dark Souls)).
References[]
- ↑ Duel Charm description.
- ↑ Ring of the Sun Princess description.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lloyd's Shield Ring and Lloyd's Sword Ring description.
- ↑ Opening (Dark Souls) dialogue.
- ↑ White Seance Ring description.
- ↑ Kingseeker Frampt and Opening dialogue.
- ↑ Soul of the Nameless King and Lightning Storm and Golden Crown and Ring of the Sun's Firstborn description.
- ↑ White Seance Ring and Lloyd's Sword Ring description and Gold Coin appearance.
- ↑ Lloyd's Shield Ring and Lloyd's Sword Ring and Gold Coin description.
- ↑ Darkmoon Seance Ring description.
- ↑ White Seance Ring description and Gold Coin appearance.
- ↑ White Seance Ring description.
- ↑ Cleric Armor and Force description.
- ↑ Lloyd's Talisman description.
- ↑ Duel Charm description.
- ↑ Reversal Ring#Availability
- ↑ Soul of Pontiff Sulyvahn description.
- ↑ Talisman (Dark Souls III) and Replenishment (Dark Souls III) description.
- ↑ Undead Hunter Charm description.
- ↑ Undead Hunter Charm description.
- ↑ Way of White Corona#Availability
- ↑ Way of White Corona description.
- ↑ "List of names of Odin". Wikipedia. Version from 16 January 2017, at 06:01. Retrieved 17 January 2017, at 23:31.