The Lords of Cinder (Japanese: 薪の王, Hepburn: Maki no ō, lit. 'Kings of Kindling') are characters who have linked the First Flame throughout the history of the Dark Souls universe.
To "link the First Flame" is to reach it, be powerful enough to withstand its power, and rekindle the flame anew; it is done in order to stop the First Flame from withering out and dying, a process that occurs naturally over time and would mean both the end of the Age of Fire and the coming of an Age of Dark. To attempt to link the flame, one must typically reach the kiln built around the First Flame and defeat the empty husk of the previous Lords of Cinders guarding it against those not worthy of its power.
The original Lord of Cinder was Gwyn, although more would link the flame and extend the Age of Fire in subsequent eras. Becoming a Lord of Cinder entails a sacrifice, as the Lord is consumed by the First Flame in the process. After Gwyn linked the flame, only his mere husk defended it; with each subsequent linking of the Flame, remnants of these Lords would merge with the previous ones and strengthen the First Flame's guardian, eventually giving birth to the Soul of Cinder.
Throughout history, numerous aspiring Lords managed to reach the First Flame, but, some of them ultimately lacked the strength to withstand its power, and were burned to ash by the flame instead of linking it. These individuals came to be known as Unkindled:[1] ill-fated champions who were buried in the Cemetery of Ash, a graveyard which scarcely saw any visitors.[2]
By the events of Dark Souls III, Prince Lothric, who was raised to become a Lord of Cinder, refused to link the First Flame, which led to four Lords of Cinder being resurrected, in the hopes that the Flame would be linked once again by an Unkindled champion that retrieved the embers of the First Flame contained within them.
Lore[]
The Lords of Cinder are beings that have linked the First Flame and prolonged the Age of Fire through the centuries.[3] Although many of these champions have followed the sacrifice of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, not everyone became a Lord of Cinder through heroic deeds or even of free will. One such case is Aldrich, who became a Lord only because he had the strength to become one, despite having obtained such power by devouring an untold number of humans for his own pleasure.[4]
The continuous linking of the Flame eventually culminated in the Soul of Cinder, the deific manifestation of the souls of all those who linked the Flame throughout history. This being, although appearing as an empty husk, inherits the abilities of the Lords of Cinders who have come before.[3][5][6] It has long existed as the Flame's last defense inside the Kiln, protecting it from Champions attempting to link it again and acting as the ultimate test of their strength.[3][5][7]
By the events of Dark Souls III, Prince Lothric, who was raised to become a Lord of Cinder, refused to link the First Flame. This led to Lords of Cinder from the past being exhumed from their graves: these Lords were meant to sacrifice themselves to the Flame once again, using what little embers remained within themselves as kindling. However, most of these Lords refused the call, and instead settled back into their domains. To prevent the First Flame from dying out, the Unkindled would then be resurrected as a last resort; these Champions were bound to seek the absconded Lords of Cinder,[1] and forcefully bring them back—in the form of their cinders—to their empty thrones at Firelink Shrine.[8] Once all five Lords "sat" their thrones, an Unkindled Champion would be bestowed the embers of these Lords, and sent to the Kiln of the First Flame to overcome the final challenge and link the Flame.[9]
Although the system that managed the linking of the First Flame had rung the bells to resurrect the past Lords of Cinder when needed,[10] not all of them have awakened from their resting places.[11] Consequently, once the Flame eventually goes out, at some point these Lords of Cinder from the past will rise again and wander the lands like tiny flames. These beings will possess fragments of the First Flame stored within their bodies in the form of cinders, giving them the powers of the Flame in a world that will be enveloped in Darkness.[12]
Lords of Cinder[]
Dark Souls[]
- Gwyn, Lord of Cinder: One of the possessors of the primordial Lord Souls and king of the gods. He linked the First Flame to prolong the Age of Fire, becoming the first Lord of Cinder.
- Chosen Undead*: A human who followed the prophecy of the Chosen Undead and ended up in Lordran, overcame multiple challenges and gathered powerful souls before gaining access to the Kiln of the First Flame.
- Solaire of Astora+ (In his own time/world)
Dark Souls II[]
- Bearer of the Curse*: A human who ended up in Drangleic in search of a solution for the curse of Undeath, overcame multiple challenges and gathered powerful souls before gaining access to the Throne of Want.
Dark Souls III[]
- Soul of Cinder**: A deific manifestation of the souls of all those who have linked themselves to the First Flame through history.
- Yhorm the Giant: A giant humanoid, king of the Profaned Capital, who linked the First Flame in an attempt to save his city from the Profaned Flame.
- Ludleth of Courland: A small pygmy from Courland and a student of the art of transposition: the process of extracting and coalescing the essence of souls to gain incredible powers.
- Abyss Watchers: A legion of Undead soldiers tasked with fighting the Abyss wherever it takes shape, united in their souls by the wolf blood of Artorias to link the First Flame and do their duty one last time.
- Aldrich, Saint of the Deep: A cleric from Irithyll of the Boreal Valley who took pleasure in devouring humans, eating so much that his body became a sludge of darkness and was made to link the First Flame for his strength.
- Lothric, Younger Prince***: A prince brought into the world by the royal family of Lothric for the sole purpose of linking the Flame; however, his frailty, curse and suffering led him to reject his destiny.
- Ashen One*: An Unkindled who was resurrected in Lothric with the duty of linking of the First Flame, overcame multiple challenges and gathered the cinders of Lords of the past before gaining access to the Kiln of the First Flame.
Notes[]
+ This is dependent on the player’s actions. If the player kills the Sunlight Maggot, and then summons Solaire to face Gwyn, he will link the Fire in his own world.[13]
* Depending on the player's chosen endings, the Chosen Undead, Bearer of the Curse and Ashen One could all become Lords of Cinder.
** The Soul of Cinder is a deific manifestation of the previous Lords of Cinder.
*** Lothric, Younger Prince was supposed to link the Flame and become a Lord of Cinder but he never did.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Opening (Dark Souls III) narration: "... And the Unkindled will rise. Nameless, accursed Undead, unfit even to be Cinder. And so it is, that Ash seeketh Embers."
- ↑ Hidden Blessing description.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Soul of the Lords description.
- ↑ Hawkwood the Deserter dialogue: "Let's take Aldrich, for one. A right and proper cleric, only, he developed a habit of devouring men. He ate so many that he bloated like a drowned pig, then softened into sludge, so they stuck him in the Cathedral of the Deep. And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might."
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Soul of Cinder#Fight Overview
- ↑ Firelink Armor description.
- ↑ Firelink Greatsword description.
- ↑ Fire Keeper (Dark Souls III) dialogue: "The Lords have left their thrones, and must be deliver'd to them."
- ↑ Fire Keeper (Dark Souls III) dialogue: "The five lords sit their five thrones. All thanks to thee, most worthy of lords. Ashen one, with the Lords as thy witness, bend thy knee afore the bonfire's coiled sword. And let the Lords' embers acknowledge thee as their true heir. A true lord, fit to link the fire." and "Noble Lords of Cinder. The fire fades... and the lords go without thrones. Surrender your fires... to the true heir. Let him grant death... To the old gods of Lordran, deliverers of the First Flame."
- ↑ Opening (Dark Souls III) narration.
- ↑ Ludleth of Courland dialogue: "Ahh, well met. All is as planned, is it not? Five lords for five thrones... To think others might ne'er be raised... And I, of the Last Lords, a rather little lord, most undeserving of the honour. Speak with the Fire Keeper."
- ↑ Fire Keeper (Dark Souls III) dialogue: "The First Flame quickly fades. Darkness will shortly settle. But one day, tiny flames will dance across the darkness. Like embers, linked by lords past."
- ↑ Hidetaka Miyazaki, Game no Shokutaku interview: "If you kill the red-eyed Sunlight Maggot, he can fight with you against the last boss. After that, he will link the fire in his own world."