FromSoftware's Dark Souls series follows the genre's rules in a more obtuse manner. Players can begin to piece together the story of Dark Souls by reading item descriptions, conversing with NPCs, and paying attention to the surrounding landscape.
The game's many bosses, all of whom are closely linked to one another throughout the game's central narrative, are some of the most heartbreaking and riveting lore in the entire franchise.
The Witches of Izalith
Ancient dragons ruled the area with no rivalry for thousands of years until the First Flame burst forth seemingly out of nowhere, attracting four nearby humanoid creatures.
The first of these creatures, the Furtive Pygmy, held the First Flame for a moment and became immediately imbued with power. Along with Gwyn and Nito, the other three humanoids became imbued with power. Each individual was given the ability to wield pyromancies with ease.
Gwyn convinced the other bearers of the Lord Souls to rebel against the dragons and take the land for themselves. Nito used his abilities to spread plague and famine across the land, while Gwyn used his powerful lightning bolts to break the dragons' otherwise-impenetrable armor.
The Lords had a powerful force, but the odds were still against them. The Witch of Izalith gave birth to seven children, six of whom were named the Daughters of Chaos. Each of the Witch's daughters was also adept at wielding pyromancies. Together, the Witch of Izalith and her daughters summoned devastating firestorms to remove any remaining dragons and level their habitations.
Chaos Magic Created the Bed of Chaos
The Witch and her family returned to Izalith, their ancestral homeland. Gwyn took on the title of ruler of this new land, now named Lordran, after the ancient dragons were defeated. However, the Age of Fire did not last.
Gwyn soon learned that the First Flame was beginning to wane, and knew that his powers would disintegrate, sent out his four knights to search the land for a way to keep the flame going. The Witch accomplished this, creating the Flame of Chaos. However, the Flame of Chaos was far more dangerous than she had anticipated, and her and her daughters quickly lost control.
The Witch of Izalith was consumed by the Flame of Chaos' fire, along with a handful of her daughters. As the city of Izalith became more engulfed, the flames soon spread across the city of Izalith, killing the vast majority of its inhabitants in one fell swoop. The Flame of Chaos began to calm itself, molding itself into a tree-like creature that would be known as the Bed of Chaos.
The Bed of Chaos began to use its flame as a weapon to produce and transform life, mostly as Demons across Lordran, and many of Izalith's fallen citizens would be used by the Bed of Chaos to create different kinds of Demons. Only one of the Witch's daughters, Quelana, survived, enabling her to return to Blighttown.
The Chaos Flame was chosen by Gwyn to protect the rest of Lordran from the Demon threat. A few Demons retained their humanity, and were willing to be locked away forever when the Eleum Loyce kingdom was constructed over it. The Ivory King of this land is quickly corrupted by the flame, but with help from the Bearer of the Curse, the Chaos Flame is extinguished once and for all.
Dark Souls Remastered is now available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.