What’s up guys, I'm Dave Klein, and welcome
to my Dark Souls 3 Lore series. Today, we’re going to take a look at a King who would betray
his own kin in order to follow his beliefs and someone who would disgrace his own family
name…. The Nameless King. Long ago, far before the events of Dark Souls
3, and even before the “Age of Gods” was The Age of Ancients. It was a time of towering
stone Archtrees, Gray Crags… and Everlasting Stone Dragons. These dragons seemed to watch
over the land, a land lacking in any sort of disparity. That was, at least, until the
First Flame erupted. With the flame came Lord Souls, giving power to a group of lords who
decided it was time for a change. One of these Lords being Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight… “With the Strength of Lords, they challenged
the dragons. Gwyn’s mighty bolts peeled apart their stone
scales.” Gwyn enlisted the help of his loyal knights,
all for the purpose of defeating the dragons. Knights such as Dragonslayer Ornstein and
Hawkeye Gough, who shot down dragons with his massive bow. These warriors, and more,
were trained to take down the dragons at all costs.
“Ahh, dragon slaying. Knighthood’s highest calling.” “And the dragons were no more.” And thus, began the Age of Fire. The various lords took their dominion of the
land, with Gwyn become the lord over Anor Londo. He became known and worshipped as a
God, with his Uncle, Allfather Lloyd, becoming deeply entrenched in the Way of White… with
Gwyn meaning “White” or “Blessed” in Welsh. “The head bishop of the Way of
White [was an] apostle to Allfather Lloyd”, and Allfather Lloyd is depicted on the Golden
coins of Dark Souls 1 with “a white halo”, which would be similar to the white circlets
of the Way of White. The people of Thorolund followed the Way of the White, and Gwyn helped
found “New Londo”, a human city where he “recognized the foresight of four great
leaders of New Londo and granted them their ranks.” His lordship and dominion was established,
and all of this stemming from defeating the Dragons, with his Cathedral in Anor Londo
even containing a trophy case of deceased dragon heads. Gwyn had three known children. His youngest,
and often forgotten son, Gywndolin, who would eventually take up the mantle of protecting
his city and legacy. His daughter, Gwynevere, beloved by all who would eventually “[leave]
Anor Londo along many other deities, and later became wife to Flame God Flann.” And, his
first born, “A god of war, who inherited the sunlight, but [whose] foolishness led
to a loss of the annals, and rescinding of his deific status. Today, even his name is
not known.” In viewing the various statues around Anor
Londo, we can find statues of Gwyn, himself, as he was the lord of the realm. And, in his
Cathedral, we find statues of Gwyn, Gwynevere… and a destroyed and missing statue of his
first born. The Warriors of Sunlight covenant of Dark
Souls 1 are directly linked to Gwyn’s First Born, as joining the covenant will eventually
grant you Great Sunlight Spear, “The weapon of the God of War, who inherited the sunlight
of Lord Gwyn, but had respect only for arms, and nothing else”. Yet, in spite of having
his own sunlight covenant, his very statue linking him to his covenant has been completely
destroyed. All remnants of Gwyn’s Firstborn have been wiped clean, despite him being the
chosen child who inherited Gwyn’s sunlight. But what could cause Gwyn to disavow his very
own. The very same Lord who would Link the Fire to continue his legacy and the reign
of his children? What could his child possibly do to invoke his wrath so much so, that his
very name would be stripped from the annals of history? “These dragons shall never be forgotten…
We knights fought valiantly, but for everyone one of them, we lost three score of our own.
Exhilaration, pride, hatred, rage… The dragons teased out our dearest emotions.” What if your child… was to join with your
very own sworn enemy. That same enemy who slayed countless followers and friends? And
that same enemy… whose defeat allowed the very reign you enjoy. “The Nameless King was once a dragon-slaying
god of war, before he sacrificed everything to ally himself with the ancient dragons.” Dark Souls 3 describes Gwyn’s Firstborn
as “[he], who inherited the light of Gwyn, the first Lord.
The Sun’s first born was once a god of war, until he was stripped of his stature as punishment
for his foolishness. No wonder his very name has slipped from the annals of history.” And being that The Nameless King was “once
a dragon-slaying god of war”, it’s a pretty clear connection. Not only this, but The Nameless
King’s entire armor set resemble’s Gywn’s. His “golden crown, buried amidst long strands
of bristling ash, is said to closely resemble that of the First Lord.” And his “golden
bracelets, together with the golden breastplate and crown, are [also] said to closely resemble
those of the First Lord.” Yet another connection lies in his Dragonslayer
Swordspear, “A dragon hunting weapon from the age of the gods.
Its owner was the Nameless King and deific hunter of dragons. The swordspear is imbued
with lightning, of which he was the heir.” And, once again, Gwyn’s Firstborn was “A
god of war, who inherited the sunlight”, connecting the two. So, the real question remains: Why did the
Nameless King betray his own family and kin to fight for the dragons. Like Gywn, he was
“Once a slayer of dragons, [but] the former king and wargod tamed a Stormdrake, on which
he led a lifetime of battle. This miracle, Lightning Storm, is likely a tale of their
bond.” At this point, it becomes conjecture about
what exactly happened. Perhaps the Nameless King, in battling the dragons, decided to
see if he could mount one – and in doing so shifted his opinion of Dragons as he became
more friendly with the Stormdrake. Perhaps he had already changed his mind before deciding
to tame the Stormdrake and set out with the intention of taming and befriending the dragons. Either way, “The Nameless King, ally of
the ancient dragons, fought beside the Stormdrake in countless battles. [And], when the great
beast fell, the king claimed his soul, as was the custom in the age of the gods.” Having shifted sides during Gwyn’s war with
the dragons seems ample reason for Gwyn to strip his first born of all of his titles,
as The Nameless King chose to fight against his very own father. Other things worth noting:
After defeating the Nameless King, we can find both Dragonslayer Ornstein’s armor
set, and his Dragonslayer Spear. While it seemed like you killed Ornstein in Dark Souls
1, or Smough smashed him in and absorbed his powers, the Dragonslayer set found near the
Nameless King states it’s “Golden lion armor associated with the Dragonslayer Ornstein,
from the age of gods, and imbued with the strength of lightning.
In the dragonless age, this knight, who long guarded the ruined cathedral, left the land
in search of the nameless king.” So, did Ornstein search for The Nameless King
in order to destroy him, per Gwyn, or to join him? Well, Sacred Oath, a miracle found through
the Nameless King’s Warriors of Sunlight covenant tells us “This is the tale of the
Sun’s firstborn, his faithful first knight, and the brave dragonslayer who served them
both.” It would seem Ornstein chose to serve him.
And who this faithful first knight was? Well, it’s possible it’s Solaire from Dark Souls
1, as he’s closely associated with the Warriors of Sunlight covenant, and “the old God of
War still watches closely over his warriors.” But, the question remains: Who was the Dragonslayer
Ornstein we fought in Dark Souls 1, if we now know Ornstein “who long guarded the
ruined cathedral, left the land in search of the nameless king”? One possibility is that Ornstein was sent
back to the Cathedral by the Nameless King, in order to prevent the Chosen Undead from
Dark Souls 1 from succeeding in their mission of meeting Gwynevere and thereby Linking the
Flame. Although, Smough’s Great Hammer in Dark Souls 3 tells us Smough was “the last
knight to remain at his post, guarding the ruined cathedral.” So, that conjecture could be off. Another
possibility being that Gwyndolin created several illusions in Dark Souls 1. From the Gwynevere
who speaks with the Chosen Undead to the very sun and light of Anor Londo itself – so,
Dragonslayer Ornstein could be just another of Gwyndolin’s illusions. And, finally, there’s possibilities of alternate
timelines in the Souls games, as Solaire tells players “time is convoluted” and warriors
phase in and out. This could lead to the possibility that in one timeline, the Chosen Undead found
Ornstein before he left for the Nameless King. While, in another instance, the Chosen Undead
arrived after Ornstein had left, allowing him to reach the Archdragon Peak and die in
the Nameless King’s service. I don't think there’s currently a set answer
to this, so whichever answer you believe is definitely possibility. Personally, I currently
like to believe this makes Ornstein of Dark Souls 1 an illusion. But, I still flip-flop
on my opinion, even as I’m writing this video, and as far as I can tell, there really
is no set answer. One final thing worth mentioning is that the
Archdragon Peak seems to be completely run by the Nameless King. There are statues of
him lining the shrine, and once the bell is rung to summon him, the Path of the Dragon
gesture is worthless in getting many of the items you can get by worshipping the dragons
who exist there. It seems, to me, the Nameless King created a haven away from Anor Londo
where he could help the dragons’ offspring thrive. As we find a collapsed, mountain-sized
Dragon in the distance, it’s likely all that now exist are less powerful drakes and
wyverns, as well as the serpent-men, with Serpents being “A snake that could have
been, but never was a dragon.” -- Alright guys, that wraps up my video on the
Nameless King. I hope you enjoyed, and definitely let me know your thoughts on Ornstein in the
comments below. Also, other creators have begun uploading videos on the Nameless King,
and I’d suggest supporting them and checking those out as well, for their insights and
a different take. If you did enjoy my video, you might like my other Dark Souls 3 lore
videos, or can always catch up with my Dark Souls 1 lore series. And, I’ll see you guys
next time. Peace!
