Profaned Capital

The Profaned Capital (罪の都, Tsumi no Miyako, Capital of Sin) is a location in Dark Souls III. It is a subsection of the Irithyll Dungeon.

Description

The Profaned Capital is a highly decimated ruin that has somehow sunken into a great chasm, the only natural light pouring from a crack in the cavernous walls. Very little of what was once a proud civilization remains, making this area quite small. The state of the Capital is in such disarray that the only things remaining are a few bridges and tunnels, a vestige of a great tower, a church sunken in a swamp, and the throne room of Yhorm the Giant. The rest of what was once a prosperous realm has long since corroded away. An overlook of the Capital is viewable from Irithyll Dungeon.

One of two bonfires is within the central tower, its interior hollowed out, but its heights traversable thanks to numerous ladders up and down its interior and exterior. The source of the ladders is no mystery, as the corpse of Laddersmith Gilligan can be seen splayed out right by the bonfire, where the player can learn a gesture.

Off to the side is a network of tunnels with multiple holes in the floor, opening up to a caverous, filthy swamp that inflicts Toxic instead of Poison and is occupied by Sewer Centipedes. An old church in visible disarray is half-sunken in the swamp, populated by grotesque hand-headed creatures. A path by the church leads back to Irithyll Dungeon, where one can access otherwise-blocked cells.

On the other side of the chasm and across a half-decimated bridge is a great and ornate façade, flanked by inactive gargoyles. Handmaids surround a golden brazier that perpetually burns, perhaps being the Profaned Flame itself. The entrance is flanked by two antechambers filled with more handmaids, the left one also accessible by the previously-mentioned bridge. Scattered across the whole floor are artifacts of gold and silver, as well as piles of charred, half-melted bodies. Straight ahead is the chamber of Yhorm himself.

Lore

The Profaned Capital was ruled over by Yhorm the Giant, descendant of an ancient conqueror, who was nevertheless asked by the previously subjugated people to lead them. A sorcery school was established there, one of two leading schools claiming to be heir to the legacy of Big Hat Logan. The court sorcerers from the Profaned Capital also served as priests, as golden stitching of their robes suggest. Although they were undeniably intelligent and adept in their craft, it is possible that they did not follow Big Hat Logan as much as they claimed to. Despite the Citizens of the Profaned Capital called Yhorm "King", their hearts were not their voice, meaning they merely used him and didn't trust him.

Yhorm defended the kingdom from many threats, serving as the kingdom's heavy blade and solid shield, and at some point, Yhorm acquired two Storm Rulers, probably from the enemies he defeated. He gave one such sword to his subjects in an efford to win their trust.

As a result of a curse which bound a group of women which were four relatives of a priest (a court sorcerer), the everlasting Profaned Flame was triggered. Those involved in the curse went on living carelessly, although the curse turned the women into malformed creatures.. The sorcerers created Gargoyles that wield either spears, or hammers imbued with the Profaned Flame.

After Yhorm became a Lord of Cinder in order to stop the Profaned Flame, the city was burned down by a fire said to be coming from the sky, which burned only humans.

The only survivors of the Capital are the Handmaids, the court sorcerer Eamon, and the four malformed women. The Handmaids who served in the Capital reportedly took pleasure in hurting others.

Sometime after the Profaned Flame destroyed the Capital, Pontiff Sulyvahn discovered the Profaned Flame and the Capital, "a burning ambition took root within him". He would later infuse the Profaned Flame within his own greatsword, and would perhaps introduce the Profaned Flame to the Fire Witches. They would learn to use its power and summon firestorms with their halberds., and would eventually take Irithyll for themselves.

Sulyvahn would later build a dungeon, and hired some handmaids to guard the prison, which preserves part of the profaned flame in a icy skull.

Theories

• It's possible that the Profaned Capital was part of the kindgom of Carthus, and that the city declared independence from said kingdom.
  • Yhorm is said to be the descendant of an ancient conqueror, and the only conqueror mentioned in the game is Wolnir.
  • Both countries apply the use of pyromancies.
  • Wolnir's use of the abyss and his following discovery of Dark Pyromancies may have prompt the Court Sorcerers to study the dark and the abyss, leading to the creation of the Profamed Flame.
• It's possible that the one dear to Yhorm was his wife, and that Leonhard is their son. Leonhard is said to be a member of royalty, that was taught sorcery, and that was burned in his young age, and the Profaned Capital is a country of sorcerers burned by the profaned flame.
• The "ones involved in the ritual" which created the Profaned Flame and transformed the mostruosities of sin are probably the Court Sorcerers themselves, and probably used Eleonora in the rite.
  • Eleonora means "light bringer" in italian, and the skill Feast Bell makes the axe emit the sound of a bell, but the skill drains the HP of the opponent, a skill associated with the dark, so it's possible that Eleonora was an holy weapon corrupted in the dark rite.
• As their name suggests, the Handmaids probably served the nobles and the royalty, including the Court Sorcerers. It's possible that the monstruosities of sin were four of such Handmaids.
  • It can be assumed that the monstruosities were Eimon's handmaids, given that the Court Sorcerer is found in the same cathedral where some of the monstruosities are found.

    

    The soaked blood in the Handmaids white robe

• While it's true that the profaned flame burned humans in the city, it's possible that only burned the nobles and the court, as the only burned bodies we find in the city are found in Yhorm's throne room. Given that the only survivors of the Capital, excluding Eamon and the monstruosities, are the Handmaids, and that the Handmaids and the Jailers are shown to be sadists, it's plausible that the Handmaids went wild after the nobles died and Yhorm sacrifice himself, and that they killed any other inhabitant of the capital for fun and took over the city.
• Multiples Statues in the Capital portray sages pointing a snake-shaped object in the sky. Sage is a term used multiple times for the sorcerers, and since the flame which burned the Capital is said to have come from the sky, it's possible that the Court Sorcerers were burned in a failed ritual involving the profaned flame.

Adjacent locations

• Irithyll Dungeon

Bonfires

Main article: Irithyll Dungeon (bonfires)

The Profaned Capital is a subsection of the Irithyll Dungeon and comprises the following bonfires:

Profaned Capital

Yhorm the Giant

Enemies

Respawning

• Gargoyle
• Jailer Handmaid
• Sewer Centipede

Non-respawning

• Court Sorcerer Eamon
• Crystal Lizard (×2)
• Mimic (×3)
• Monstrosity of Sin (×4)

Boss

• Yhorm the Giant

Items

• Blooming Purple Moss Clump (×3)
• Court Sorcerer Set
• Court Sorcerer's Staff (drop: Mimic)
• Covetous Gold Serpent Ring
• Cursebite Ring
• Eleonora
• Ember
• Flame Stoneplate Ring+1
• Greatshield of Glory (drop: Mimic)
• Large Soul of a Weary Warrior / Soul of a Venerable Old Hand
• Logan's Scroll (drop: Court Sorcerer)
• Magic Stoneplate Ring+2
• Onislayer Greatarrow (×8)
• Onislayer Greatbow
• Poison Arrow (×18)
• Poison Gem
• Purging Stone (×4)
• Rubbish
• Rusted Coin (×4)
• Rusted Gold Coin (×3)
• Shriving Stone
• Storm Ruler
• Titanite Slab*
• Twinkling Titanite (×2, drop: Crystal Lizards)
• Undead Bone Shard
• Wrath of the Gods

* If required conditions are met.

Gallery

Promotional screenshot