Elana, the Squalid Queen

Lore

Elana is a child of dark, one of the abyss spawn, a confounded quintessence of Manus and his Dark Soul. Like her sisters; Nashandra, Nadalia and Alsanna, Elana is a fragment of Manus’ emotions. She represents wrath or anger.

There is no mention of Elana outside of her soul and weapon. This is interesting to note in connection with her moniker “the Squalid Queen”. Squalid describes something that is extremely dirty and unpleasant, most often due to poverty or neglect. A Queen is not likely to live in poverty, but perhaps there is no mention of Elana because while she was the Queen, she was largely ignored by the Sunken King who focused on his Eternal Sanctum and the worship of the Slumbering Dragon. Perhaps she grew bitter due to this neglect, and allowed herself to fade into obscurity, all the while plotting vengeance against her King. How was it that Sir Yorgh managed to reach the Dragon’s Rest when all we find is Elana barring our way? When the entrance to the Eternal Sanctum was so heavily guarded, by those who would sacrifice even their physical form to eternally guard the Dragon? Perhaps there was someone on the inside, plotting vengeance upon the Sunken King.

How Elana came to be the Queen is unclear, but it is likely that in a similar way to the other shards of Manus, she took form and came to the Sunken King. She courted this monarch of considerable power, and desired to make the Sunken King’s power her own (see Chime of Want description). Why the shards of Manus seek power is not known. As they are children of Dark, it is likely that they seek to spread the Dark of the Abyss, and therefore extinguish the Light. Or perhaps, like Manus, they are simply driven by powerful emotions and these emotions are best expressed when wielded with great power.

Elana is amassing souls in anticipation of the coming day of vengeance. She is gathering more and more power so that either she can carry out vengeance (as this seems most likely) or so that she can defend herself against vengeance, in a similar way that Alsanna devotes herself to a ritual to escape the coming apocalypse.

We know that Elana sings to the dragon, the same song as the Sanctum Priestesses. The Priestesses also sing to the Dragon, and it is said that they sing to preserve the Dragon’s deep slumber. Elana rests beside the slumbering dragon, Sinh who resides in the Eternal Sanctum built by the Sunken King. She is said to accompany (as in go somewhere with or escort) Sinh. We are encouraged to view the song they sing as a sort of lullaby, but one wonders if a single phrase of their song ever reached the Dragon’s ears. How was it that Sinh became filled with poison? That he continued to fill with poison? From what we have seen of dragons, they do not naturally fill with poison. It therefore may have been that while the priestesses sang, their song cast a spell upon Sinh, and the spell filled Sinh with poison. The Sanctum Priestess tiara says it prevents effects that block spells. Sinh’s soul description says that when Sinh’s rain of death toppled the city, the dragon’s purity was restored. It is interesting that the Dragon had become impure, almost dirty and squalid. Elana and the priestesses’ association with poison indict them further. Elana’s Wrathful Axe creates a cloud of dark poison when its strong attack is used, while when the Priestesses die, they sometimes create pools of dark poison where they fall, almost as if they are filled with it.

The information we know about Elana raises more questions than it answers. How is she amassing souls? From what we know of her, she simply seems to be standing before a shrine dedicated to Sinh, singing her lullaby. How can this then be construed as soul amassing? The only way that souls appear to come to her is when the Player comes to kill her. Are we fulfilling the role of other would-be monarchs who she has slaughtered before?

Who does she wish to gain vengeance upon? Elana is an augur of wrath (extreme anger) and her axe is described as an armament (a military weapon). It may be that she wishes to avenge her dead husband, whose home was invaded and whose life was taken by unnecessary brutality. Or perhaps she wishes to carry out vengeance on a more grand scale, by making everything one with the Dark and extinguishing the would-be monarchs who seek after the Light. Perhaps she is simply driven by a strong emotion, and this emotion does not necessarily have a particular goal, only that it is enacted upon any it can be. The answer is illusive and illumination of her intentions go with her to the grave.

Theories

The Pagan statues found around Drangleic depict Elana

These states are everywhere and seem to depict a woman. Laddersmith Gilligan says that they belong to some auld pagan custom. It may be that these statues are depicting Elana, the Queen of the Sunken Kingdom, in her role as head priestess to the Slumbering Dragon. Or perhaps, it is a propaganda message against Elana. The majority of the statues spit poison, and some spit a substance that petrifies. If a belief was spread that Elana was poisoning the dragon, then these effigys were perhaps made in an attempt to slander her.

Dialogue.

"You were not deserving of the mire…"

"You… forever will you rot…"

Alsanna, Silent Oracle

Lore

Alsanna is a child of dark, one of the abyss spawn, a confounded quintessence of Manus and his Dark Soul. Like her sisters; Nashandra, Nadalia and Elana, Alsanna is a fragment of Manus’ emotions. She represents fear. She came to the Ivory King seeking protection, and being the highest ranking, most honourable and most selfless warrior in the land, he welcomed her into Eleum Loyce.

Eleum Loyce was a land that birthed the Old Chaos. When the Old Chaos was birthed, perhaps at someone’s attempt to reignite the first flame, the people of the land fled. The Ivory King then arrived, and subdued the flame. He established an order of priestesses directed to appease the flame. How they did this is not known, but perhaps they offered themselves to the flames and were consumed. The vessel shield depicts a priestess who is containing fire within her. This indicates that the priestesses may have tried to contain the Old Chaos within them, like the Firekeepers of old, but instead were consumed, like the Witch of Izalith was by the Chaos Flame. The priestesses had attendants by their side called Retainers. These silent women existed to help the priestesses, and when the priestesses were gone, they were left to wander frigid Eleum Loyce without purpose.

Alsanna wears the robe of a retainer. She may have been the Ivory King’s ceremonial retainer, one that attended on him for all things. The Ivory King in turn protected Alsanna and eventually fell in love. After this, it seems they were married and she became his queen, similar to the other sisters of Dark and their kings. Alternatively, the Ivory King may have loved Alsanna like a daughter, and gifted her everything upon his departure as an heir. Perhaps by natural atrophy, or perhaps by his proximity to a child of the Dark, the Ivory King’s magnificent soul began to degrade. The Eleum Loyce description indicates that the Ivory King’s strength was drained, as if by a deliberate act, though this could simply be because “the greater the flame the deeper the shadow” it may also be because Alsanna was, unbeknownst to the King, draining him of his power, as we are told in the Chime of Want description, that the minuscule fragments of Manus courted monarchs of considerable power, of which they desired make their own. Whatever the reason, when the Ivory King became aware of this, he left without a word, indicating he did not want to be stopped, and his departure ensured all things would be left to Alsanna. Before he left, he gifted to her the blade inscribed with the name of his Cathedral City; Eleum Loyce. This weapon has two intertwined blades, one light and one dark, a depiction of their relationship, and proof that the King was aware of Alsanna’s origins and nature, but loved her still. The Ivory King then took his Loyce Knights and assaulted the Old Chaos in an attempt to finally subdue it. But the King and many of his Knights were consumed. Some returned, but without a leader to guide them back into battle, they were left purposeless, though still faithful to the King’s final order to subdue the Chaos.

The people waited for a long time for the return of their king, but when the outcome became undeniable, the people fled the city. Perhaps Alsanna prophesized that the Old Chaos would sweep through the city, and that the only option was to flee and open the gates to the frozen tundra. Alsanna is known as the Silent Oracle, and an augur of fear, it may have been a title given to her when she prophesized the doom of Eleum Loyce. She repeatedly warns the Player against any further progress into Eleum Loyce and urges them to turn back as the Old Chaos "hungers still". Alsanna herself seems to have control of the blizzard that sweeps through Eleum Loyce and the ice that protects her, so perhaps the people fled when the land became frigid and desolate due to Alsanna’s influence, or perhaps this was a result of the gates being opened when the people fled and Alsanna not stopping the incoming blizzard, even though she could have. Whatever the reason, Alsanna became the sole occupant of the frozen land and apparently the wielder of great power.

After the people left, Alsanna was alone save for the protection of Aava, the King’s Pet. She remained in Eleum Loyce to warn those who might enter away from the Chaos it contained, and with the faint hope that her King might return. It may be that her apparent fear to leave the side of her King made her the bravest of all, when she refused to leave despite her belief that the Old Chaos would eventually consume her. Alsanna’s soul says that she is devoting herself to a ritual in hopes of appeasing the raging flame, though does not explain what this ritual is. It may be the ritual of the retainer. Alsanna is depicted kneeling before the Old Chaos and the Retainers around Eleum Loyce have the exact same kneeling pose. It may be that when a Retainer’s priestess was lost, that Retainer lost all purpose in life, and ritually prayed for their safe return or the safety of their souls. In the same sense, Alsanna was or at least may have considered herself the Ivory King’s Retainer. She therefore waits for his return, or his end at the Player’s hands. Though the ritual is said to be done in hopes of appeasing the raging flame, the motive behind the ritual is not explained. In Alsanna’s case it may be that she hopes to appease the raging flame in an attempt to put to rest her King’s soul. She seems to realise that the Old Chaos causes the souls of those consumed by it to burn in agony until they are destroyed by the Player, and because of this knowledge, grieves for the King and for the knights that were lost in the Ivory King’s final battle against the Chaos.

Alsanna has the ability to put to rest the souls of the Loyce Knights. Within the actual game, it seems that this text is just added to indicate that we should approach Alsanna with our Loyce Souls. When the player does this, Alsanna begins to remove the ice that protects her. After possessing 50 Loyce souls and killing the Burnt Ivory King, Alsanna will allow the player to reach her on the throne, even giving over her soul. It seems that she genuinely does care for the King and his knights, and will increasingly trust the Player the more brave knights they put to final rest. Alsanna does not consume the loyce souls, but is simply content to know that they have been subdued. While the Old Chaos is not defeated, Alsanna still trusts the Player enough to allow them to approach her, and in some way it seems that the Player’s actions allow Alsanna to find peace.

Dialogue

Approaching Eleum Loyce for the first time
You, approaching Eleum Loyce,
Turn back.
The old Chaos hungers still.

Approaching Aava, the King's Pet fog gate
Go back.
Aava is watching.
Go back.

Approaching Eye of the Priestess
Turn away.
And never look back.
No one must ever find
that which is sheltered in Eleum Loyce.

First Conversation in the Cathedral
To think Aava could be bested…
Who are you?
This land is barren,
Cursed, by the old Chaos.
It gave birth to atrocities,
and the people fled in fear.
Until our lord, the Ivory King, came.

Second time talked to.
My dear lord, a most true king.
It was with his magnificent soul
that he build Eleum Loyce…
…and contained the spread of Chaos.
But the Chaos would not be sated,
and the King gave his own soul.

Third time talked to.
Inevitably, the King was drained of vigor,
and plunged into the Chaos' heart.
Eleum Loyce was frozen in time, it's leader lost…
I remain here, to contain the Chaos,
honouring my Lord's wishes.
Prehaps one day, he will return…
There's nothing here,
save that accursed flame…

Fourth time talked to.
I have but one wish.
That my Lord might be freed
from that unspeakable Chaos.
I haven't the strength to help him myself,
but perhaps one such as you…
Though I am yet to know your name,
stranger, will you lend me your strength?

Answering No
Then be gone.
There's nothing here, nothing at all.

Speaking to her again if answered No previously
Stranger.
Are you now prepared to plunge into Chaos?

Answering Yes
Kind visitor, I thank you.
Let me open the path to Chaos.
And please, do all you can…

After answering Yes
Many of Eleum Loyce's faithful knights
followed their Lord into the Chaos.
But none of them returned.
The King's dutiful subjects waited
patiently for His homecoming.
But it was too long a wait to bear…
The knights of Eleum Loyce await a new leader.
One who will guide them into Chaos.
After having freed all Loyce Knights
The knights, reborn will follow your word.

All dialogue exhausted
Go on, kind visitor.
May you reach your journey's end, one day.

When Killed
Oh, my dear lord…

Nashandra, Queen of Drangleic

Lore

King Vendrick "had a dear Queen, a woman of unparalleled beauty. Long ago, the Queen came to us, alone, from a faraway land."

The queen, Nashandra, has a secret, Dark and ancient. She is the smallest piece of Manus, the Father of the Abyss. Long ago, after his defeat in the lost land of Oolacile, he split into miniscule fragments. As the fragments recollected, they assumed a human form.

She convinced Vendrick to cross the sea and pilfer a mighty prize from the Giants. She brought a Dark-like peace to the Kingdom of Drangleic, but eventually Vendrick realized something was amiss. He fled and refused to take part in Nashandra's plans any longer. But now she has found you, the new Heir to the Throne of Want…

___

Nashandra is a child of dark, one of the abyss spawn, a confounded quintessence of Manus and his Dark Soul. Like her sisters; Nadalia, Elana and Alsanna, Nashandra is a fragment of Manus’ emotions. She represents wrenching desire.

When Manus was defeated, the Abyss dissipated. However, Manus was reborn in death after his soul split into minuscule fragments and spread across the land (perhaps Lordran). The pieces began to coalesce again, becoming human in shape. After taking their shapes, these fragments courted monarchs of considerable power, of which they desired to make their own. Nashandra was born of the Dark with an insatiable lust for strength. She was tiniest of the shards of Manus. Precisely due to its size, this piece was the first to restore its form and sensing its own fragility, yearned for what it lacked; strength.

Nashandra came to Drangleic alone, from a faraway land. She was a woman of unparalleled beauty and Vendrick made her his Queen. She became his dear “‘Shandra”. At this stage Vendrick was likely unaware of Nashandra’s true nature or that she had any other motive than to be with him. But impelled by her own cravings, Nashandra had become obsessed with the King’s soul. How Nashandra had heard of the Giants is not known. She may have come from their land to the North, or she may have seen the Golems leading to the Throne of Want somehow and realized their connection (unlikely). Regardless, Nashandra advised Vendrick that he may step closer to fire (perhaps gain access to the Throne of Want, but more likely, further fan his brightly burning soul in an attempt to stave off the Curse, a lie, but he knew no better) if he conquered the Giants and made their power his own. Nashandra herself wanted the Giants power for her own sake and therefore strove to make the Giants’ strength her own. The people were told a different story. Chancellor Wellager tells us that the Queen warned Vendrick of the looming threat across the seas… of the Giants. The people were given a reason to go to war, so that they would not lose faith in their King despite his act of misguided barbarism. In adherence to his Queen’s council, Vendrick crossed the seas with his Queen at his side and led his armies north in an effort to subjugate the Giants, and claim their powerful souls (an invaluable prize) for his own. Vendrick took prisoner the Giants, and brought them back to his castle (we know that the Castle was built after conquering the Giants, so perhaps Vendrick had another castle – perhaps it was Aldia’s Manor) clapped in irons.

King Vendrick commandeered the power of the Giants’ souls, which allowed him to create the Golems. With the Golems the King created his castle; Drangleic Castle, to celebrate victory and to show his love, his gratitude to the Queen. The victory brought about an age of peace for the Kingdom. It was during this time that Nashandra ushered in an Age of Dark. Chancellor Wellager says that the Queen brought peace to their land and to her King. A peace that was so deep, it was like the Dark. King Vendrick himself says that his dear ‘Shandra spread dark with no relent. However, despite all this and even after his modest triumph, Vendrick’s countenance could be seen to grow darker with each passing day. His defeat of the Giants did not bring him the solution he sought so desperately; a cure to the Curse that afflicted him and his people. He had chosen a different path to the Kings of yore, to embrace the Dark and never take the true Throne, to become a Dark Lord. His Kingdom had entered an Age of Dark that may have brought a form of peace to the people, but did not halt the onset of the Curse. He had removed the Firekeepers from their posts and allowed the flames to die out. But still the Curse’s slow march withered his Soul, and due to the magnificence of the King’s great soul, the Dark was beckoned more quickly. Shadow is not cast, but born of fire, and the brighter the flame, the deeper the shadow. So, in desperation Vendrick, with his brother Aldia, sought another way to break the cycle of the Curse that had eroded and destroyed so many kingdoms before him. To do this Vendrick peered straight into the essence of the soul. Both the siblings sought a way to overcome the Curse and pursued any means of attaining it.

The true nature of Nashandra must have dawned on Vendrick during this time. What she had promised him had not been delivered, and had even furthered her own goals and power. When we speak with him in his memory, Vendrick denounces Nashandra as a foul creature, a feeble tiny thing that thirsted for power more than any other. He realized that she was driven by insatiable lust for a “worthy vessel”, a vessel that could hold the Great Soul. The Great Soul is a soul that is able to burn upon the Throne of Want and allow souls to flourish anew, essentially what the player has by the end of Dark Souls 2. All along, Nashandra sought the King’s soul, but he would not let her have it. The King’s affectionate exaltation of the Queen turned to resentful mockery.

Then the Giant’s came. They landed on the northern shores of the kingdom, and set siege to King Vendrick’s castle, hoping to reclaim their kidnapped comrades. But the Giants were dead, their souls taken and abused in experiments. The Giants are no ordinary barbarians, a singular rage burned within their hearts. Captain Drummond’s father and his father, both fought the Giants in Drangleic. The Giants had wills of steel, they could not find it within themselves to forgive the misdeeds of King Vendrick. The Giant Lord conquered the land of Drangleic and brought it to ruin. It has been a pile of rubble since the war fought long, long ago. However, as the war with the Giants reached its ferocious peak, King Vendrick disappeared, leaving his castle. Some swear that upon hearing the news, Queen Nashandra’s face remained as still as her portrait. But we can be confident she was angered beyond reason. King Vendrick, unbeknownst to Nashandra, had made the decision to leave her and deny her the Great Soul he possessed.

Despite his many attempts, despite coming so close, Vendrick admitted defeat. He could not find a way to overcome the Curse that beckoned him towards the Dark. So he went to the Undead Crypt, a place where he might find peace under the guidance and care of the Fenito. The Undead Crypt is deeply immersed in Dark. This is because the Dark allows those who are cursed to find a type of rest. Not a true death, but a state where they are at peace. Light only agitates these poor souls. Vendrick hid his soul in the Shrine of Amana, a marshland preceding the Undead Crypt, and made it only accessible by one who is truly human. Perhaps becoming a hollow was Vendrick’s final attempt at overcoming the Curse in some way, he was giving in to the only path that remained open to him and taking his true shape, despite being filled with uncertainty: “One day the fire will fade, and dark will become a curse. Dark will again be ours, and in our true shape we can bury the false legends of yore.
… Only, is this our only choice?”

The Giant Lord was defeated by an unknown warrior and the land of Drangleic left in tatters. Nashandra could not use King Vendrick like she had intended to, to obtain the most powerful soul. Instead, she remained at her castle and awaited an heir, a worthy vessel for the Great Soul. She urges the Player to seek Vendrick, and tells you that there can only be one King. What makes a King? Some say that it is birthright, while others call it destiny. It would seem that the path to kinghood is best navigated by adding strength to strength. Because Vendrick did not obtain the Great Soul or burn himself upon the Throne of Want, thereby creating the ‘First Flame’ Nashandra did not consider him a true king. Though unused, this dialogue fits perfectly with the story:

But to know if you are the true king…
…we will require the throne. – Nashandra

Nashandra doesn’t seek to take the Throne herself, but simply fights you there because that is the point where your soul will be the strongest and brightest. She waits till you have access to the Throne because this proves to her that you have the soul she wants. Only a monarch can gain access to the Throne. Once you have proven yourself to her, by defeating the Throne Watcher and Defender and obtaining access to the Throne of Want through the Giant’s Kinship, Nashandra comes after you coveting your Great Soul. She is a prisoner of desire, trapped in her desire for power. A Great Soul is a bright soul, Nashandra seeks to make you one with the Dark. In other words, she wishes to take your soul thereby making you “Dark”, the natural state of man. She will kill you over and over again till she has what she wants. Though she is perhaps referring to the idea that the player is a fragment of Manus' dark soul as well, as she is trying to collect all these pieces together.

But we cannot allow this to happen. Nashandra does not seek to cure the Curse. She only seeks power, and what we have come to Drangleic to find is a cure, not to be manipulated by a fragment of Manus. So she must be destroyed. To inherit fire and harness the dark, such is the calling of a true leader. Both Vendrick and Aldia came to the same conclusion, despite seeking through different means; that to overcome this Curse a new path must be taken. What this path is, only a monarch can know. Aldia tells us to "Seek light, Dark andwhat lies beyond", he asks us what we truly want: “Light? Dark? Or something else entirely…”

“There is no path.
Beyond the scope of light,
Beyond the reach of dark…
…what could possibly await us?
And yet, we seek it, insatiably
Such is our fate…” - Aldia, Scholar of the First Sin

We as the new monarch are to carry the weight of the people on our backs and find a solution to the Curse, the Cycle, that keeps coming back. To do this a new path must be taken, but how we get there or what that means is left for the King to decide, perhaps it is a return to a world of grey crags, archtrees and everlasting dragons?. Each king has his rightful throne and when he sits upon it, he sees what he chooses to see. Nashandra existed purely for her desire, her want and she found her place in the cycle as an ordeal to be overcome on the road to kinghood.

Dialogue

First encounter (at Drangleic Castle, when in human form):
"You have fought admirably on your journey, cursed Undead.
I am Nashandra, Queen of Drangleic.
A true monarch carries the weight of their souls.
The last king of this land, King Vendrick, as he was called…
He was less of a king than you might imagine.
He found the strength to rule his people, and when the Undead were born, cursed…
He found more strength, to face them.
But in the end, he never took the true throne."

Talking again (during first encounter):
"Visit Vendrick.
We have no need for two rulers…"
"…"

Talking (after obtaining the King's Ring):
"Brave Undead, seek the throne.
Follow the symbol of the monarch, and do what must be done."

Talking (after killing Vendrick):
"Drangleic is no longer."

Talking (after meeting the Ancient Dragon):
"Brave Undead, what did that dragon tell you?
That thing is a prop, a false deity.
Don't be fooled, my Undead."

Talking (while the Ashen Mist Heart is in your inventory):
"Seek the forest, you, where those wretched Giants slumber."

Fight introduction:
"Brave Undead, you have proven yourself to me.
Now, be one, with the Dark…"

เปิดตำนาน Firelink shrine เปิดบล็อคใหม่จ้า

Ep.1 Firelink shrine

Dark Souls 3 ใกล่จะออกแล้ว ได้เวลานั่งอุ่นๆใกล้กองไฟล่ะสิ 12 เมษายน 2559 เจอกัน!