Aldrich, Saint of the Deep was a cleric according to Hawkwood who grew a habit for devouring men. He devoured so many men that he bloated and softened into a black sludge covered in bones. He was put into the Cathedral of the Deep and was named a Lord of Cinder not for virtue, but for might. He was not made a Lord of Cinder for his right to be one but he was made a Lord of Cinder because he was incredibly powerful. A popular theory on Aldrich is that he ate the last god being Gwyndolin, he then ate Nito and Priscilla too. Now, although this theory briefly explains why Aldrich looks and performs the way he does I’m going to explain why this is a lie.
First off, Aldrich did in fact consume Gwyndolin of that is true. You can physically see Aldrich consuming Gwyndolin whilst you fight him. However, he did not consume Nito and he did not consume Priscilla either. Now the reason why people believe that Aldrich consumed Priscilla is solely because he used the lifehunt scythe miracle of Priscilla. It in fact stated on this miracle that whilst devouring Gwyndolin, Aldrich dreamt of the miracle as he saw the image of a pale white girl in hiding. This is of course referring to Priscilla and therefore means that Aldrich did not consume Priscilla as a lot of people believe.
And second, a far less obvious idea is that Aldrich did not consume Nito either but in fact he was a member of the Gravelord Servants. I would like to argue that, like the chosen undead, Aldrich was also a being during the time of the first game. During this time, Aldrich became a cleric, and then a Gravelord Servant. Some people may argue that Aldrich couldn’t be a Gravelord Servant because he was a “good and proper cleric” however, Paladin Leeroy was also a cleric, that of the Way of White. Paladin Leeroy, upon the player killing Nito, will invade the player to avenge Nito. This is because Paladin Leeroy may have been a Gravelord Servant too, although not truly stated. The reason Paladin Leeroy invades you is because Nito’s Gravelord Servants were pivotal to the control of the Age of Fire and was beneficial to the Way of White. I believe that Aldrich was a cleric of the Way of White who then became a Gravelord Servant and upon becoming a servant he was bestowed the Gravelord Sword of which is given to every other Gravelord Servant. This is why Aldrich wields the Gravelord Sword atop his weapon. Now, the reason why Aldrich physically resembles Nito is not because he consumed him, but instead he consumed so many other beings that the bones of those beings have been scattered within the sludge of Aldrich’s body.
I could obviously be wrong with this theory however I believe that this is exactly how Aldrich’s background happens.