Dark Souls: The Tale of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder

Gwyn was one of four beings who emerged from the darkness at the dawn of time in Dark Souls to claim the power of the First Flame. In the beginning, the world was shapeless and shrouded in mist, dominated by immortal, ancient dragons.

When the first flame arose, it brought disparity, light and darkness, and life and death, ushering in a new age, an age of change. From the shadows formed by the glow of the first flame emerged four nameless beings, most likely from races that lurked in the depths of the world. Gwyn was one of them.

Alongside the Witch of Izalith, Gravelord Nito and the Furtive Pygmy, he took for himself a part of the power of this flame, becoming practically a god. Gwyn, Nito, and the Witch joined forces, leading their followers in a long war against the dragons. Eventually, the pygmies joined the war, bringing the power of the Dark Soul and life manipulation. Seath the Scaleless betrayed his kind, the dragons, and joined Gwyn with information about the weakness of immortal beings.

The dragons were defeated, and thus began a new era established and led by Gwyn, an era of light.

Under the Sun God's leadership, the world prospered and flourished. Cities and kingdoms arose. The grandest was Anor Londo, the capital of the gods, from where Gwyn and his sons illuminated the world.

Gwyn created the royal guard, made up of his four most formidable knights: Artorias, Ciaran, Gough, and Ornstein. His mighty army of silver knights was unparalleled and the symbol of Anor Londo's power.

Seath was favored by the Sun God and given a special place in his court, while the Witches returned to Izalith to develop their fire magic with the power of flame, and Nito took over the catacombs, where he would guard the dead.

The pygmies, ancestors of humans, continued to develop the power of the Dark Soul, which possessed unlimited potential.

Fearing the immense power humanity displayed, the Sun God gave the pygmies a city at the edge of the world and left his youngest daughter, Filianore, in their care, promising to return one day for her. All this was part of his plan to curb the power of human ancestors.

However, even after years and years, the human descendants of the pygmies who remained in the kingdom of Anor Londo still contained traces of the Dark Soul's power, proving that this fragment of flame was far more powerful than the Sun God could’ve imagined. So, the Sun God placed a curse on the humans, a Darksign that would inhibit the dark power of humanity.

With this act, Gwyn stripped humans of their powers, rendering them mere mortals. With the help of the primordial serpent Frampt, Gwyn began to indoctrinate humans into worshiping him, thus keeping them under total control. He also granted the most prominent human leaders part of his own flaming soul, and thus New Londo emerged, under the rule of the Four Human Kings.

When the first flame began to fail, the mark Gwyn had placed on the humans also lost its power, and the Abyss, a dark power linked to the Dark Soul, began to emerge. Oolacile was one of the places affected by the abyss, and it was there that Manus, Father of the Abyss appeared, the personification of humanity that Gwyn tried to contain at all costs.

Artorias was sent to Oolacile to save the kingdom and fight the Abyss, as he was able to traverse the darkness without being consumed by it. However, Artorias perished in the battle against Manus, and another mysterious hero ended the darkness there. However, all the credit goes to Artorias. Learn more here.

New Londo was also taken over by the abyss after Darkstalker Kaathe seduced the Four Kings and was eventually flooded to contain the dark power spreading there.

Sometime during the flame's decline, the Witches of Izalith attempted to recreate the original flame, but instead, a Chaos Flame was created, resulting in the birth of the first demons and the destruction of Izalith, with its people being warped by the uncontrollable power of the chaotic flame.

Fearful of the demons, Gwyn sent his Silver Knights to Izalith, and a new war ensued, with Izalith being almost destroyed. But even this couldn’t contain the power of the chaos that had been born there.

The first flame grew weaker and weaker, and the age of darkness drew nearer. Desperate, Gwyn went to the furnace built where the original flame had been born and used the last of his own soul to try to keep the primordial flame alive, resulting in his death.

With the Darksign fading and the flame nearly gone, human power returned, forcing even the dead humans to rise from their graves, thus giving rise to the first undead. Gwyn instructed Frampt to guide a chosen undead to become the next Lord of Cinder, gathering the fragments of the original lords' souls to keep the flame alive, just as Gwyn had done in the past.

At the end of Dark Souls, there’s a final boss, Gwyn himself, reanimated by his desire to protect the age of fire and light, in one of the most emotional and sad battles in the series, illustrating the decline of an age.

Gwyn is a perfect example that not even gods are free from fear and death. This character, who fought so hard to maintain power and protect his kingdom, is one of the most human characters in the series, and his legacy lives on in the other two titles, even resurfacing in the final boss fight in Dark Souls 3 against the Soul of Cinder.

His children are also essential characters in the story, especially the Nameless King, who was exiled by Gwyn after betraying the gods and allying himself with the dragons.

This concludes another article. Leave your questions, suggestions, criticisms, and/or compliments in the comments. Thank you for reading, and see you next time.