Darksign

Darksign
Found	Granted at the beginning of the game
Use	Lose Humanity and Souls, and return to Bonfire

For the Dark Souls II variant, see Darksign (Dark Souls II).

For the Dark Souls III variant, see Darksign (Dark Souls III).

The Darksign is an item in Dark Souls.

In-Game Description

The Darksign signifies an accursed Undead. Those branded with it are reborn after death, but will one day lose their mind and go Hollow.

Death triggers the Darksign, which returns its bearer to the last bonfire rested at, but at the cost of all humanity and souls.

Availability

Granted to players from the beginning of the game.

General information

Using the Darksign causes the player to return to the last Bonfire they rested at, but also causes the player to lose all humanity and souls on the person at the time.

Using the Darksign does not cause a bloodstain to appear; the souls and Humanity lost are permanent. Using the Darksign does not affect the previous bloodstain left by the player, which will still be available for reclamation.

Lore

Gwyn had foreseen the Age of Dark at the end of the Age of Fire and, fearing the infinite potential of the Dark Soul that the Furtive Pygmy found and the Humanity that inherited it, he forced a ring of fire around the Dark Soul to contain its powers and making every new human assume a weakened form and bear the Darksign. In addition, various groups were created to encourage worshipping Gwyn and his kin as Gods, such as the Way of White, the oldest and most powerful cultural organization centered around the veneration of the gods of Anor Londo, who spread Miracles to humans and cultivated the cult of the Age of Fire and the linking of the Flame.

Centuries after this abuse, the First Flame started to naturally fade out, and the Darksign, which used the power of the Flame to contain the Dark Soul, weakened too, leading humans to come back to life as Undead, but also cursing them to eventually become Hollows, as the Darksign would consume their Humanity still forced on their bodies. Thus, Gwyn sacrificed himself to rekindle the First Flame and forcibly postpone the end of the Age of Fire. Now with a martyr figure to use as powerful propaganda, the Undead Prophecy was spread throughout Lordran to encourage all who bear the Darksign to come to Lordran and claim powerful souls, making them worthy of filling the Lordvessel and succeed Lord Gwyn, rekindling the dying flame and prolonging the Age of Fire. The Chosen Undead would find themselves nearly hollow for several centuries after the rekindling of the First Flame, bearing the cursed mark of the Darksign, the greatest sin against humanity.

Overview

It is seldom advantageous to use the Darksign. Death is usually preferable, as humanity and souls can at least be recovered. The use of Homeward Bone or the Homeward miracle also sends players back to previous bonfires, but without the penalty of losing souls and humanity.

Usage of the Darksign can, however, be occasionally advantageous. Since it does not cause previous bloodstains to disappear, it may be preferable to use it over dying if players are faced with a dangerous situation and do not wish to permanently replace their old, valuable bloodstain with a new and relatively worthless one. The Darksign can be used if a player is stuck through glitching or some accident that caused them to be trapped, and does not have Homeward or Homeward Bones at hand. Manual use of the Darksign also does not cause un-hollowed status to be forfeited the way death would, so it's viable to use it instead of homeward bone if the player has less than 500 souls.

The Darksign can also be used when being invaded, but also having a bloodstain to recover.