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Dark Souls 3 Lore: Aldrich, Saint of the Deep

  • Member
    April 28, 2016

    Preface: This is part 1 of a five part discussion on the Lords of Cinder, Dark Souls 3's major bosses. I'm completely infatuated with this game's lore, it's phenomenal, and I've been wanting to delve into some of the most detailed bosses for a while. So stick with me and hopefully you'll learn something about the Lords of Cinder! Starting with...

    Aldrich, Saint of the Deep

    The Deep

    To begin, I thought we'd take a look at what the Deep is. Many assume it to just be the Abyss, but there's ample evidence that it's something different. It's actually a sea of some sorts, as indicated by Aldrich's Soul.

    When Aldrich ruminated on the fading of the fire, it inspired visions of a coming age of the deep sea.
    He knew the path would be arduous, but he had no fear. He would devour the gods himself.

    The Deep Protection miracle, obtained by giving either Irina or Karla the Deep Braille Divine Tome, has this to say:

    The deep was originally a peaceful and sacred place, but became the final rest for many abhorrent things. This tale of the Deep offers protection for those who worship amidst those horrors.

    From this we can learn that initially the Deep was rather nice but, like the Gutter in Dark Souls 2, it essentially became a rubbish pit in which trash was thrown into, polluting the environment and turning it into the terrible, eldritch thing it is now. The idea with this miracle was to allow the Deacons of the Deep to protect themselves from the Deep, showing that it was a thing that corrupts. Further evidence of this is present in the Deep Braille Divine Tome's and Deacon's Set's descriptions:

    Intended to teach divine protection to the deacons of the deep, but later, dark tales were added to its pages, such that it is now considered a thing profane.

    In time, those dedicated to sealing away the horrors of the Deep succumbed to their very power. It seems that neither tending to the flame, nor the faith, could save them

    The Deacons had a mantra to resist this corruption, indicated by the Deep Ring's description.

    In the Cathedral slumber things most terrible, and as such, the deacons require a grand narrative, to ensure they do not falter in their duty. A philosophy, to ward away the madness beckoned by the grotesqueries at hand.

    But the Deacons were not alone in their guarding of Aldrich and the Deep, they had the help of their loyal Cathedral Knights.

    Repulsive creatures of the deep are sure to attract the foolish, but the cathedral knights are prepared to meet such intruders head on with their more than ample might.

    So, we now know what there is to know about the Deep. In summary, it was initially a peaceful place, a sea of some sorts, which became corrupted over time by many abhorrent things. This turned it into an unstoppable force of corruption, home to repulsive horrors and grotesqueries, something the Deacons and their knights tried to contain.

    But why was Aldrich made a Saint of the Deep? Well, as mentioned in his soul, he was the one who inspired it all. He had this vision of an Age of Deep, so decided to devour the Gods in order to obtain the power needed to usher in this new age...

    The Cathedral of the Deep

    But he didn't do it alone. Aldrich established the Cathedral of the Deep to help him usher in this new age. Now, there are various roles within the Cathedral of the Deep, but first, we'll look at the Aldrich Faithful covenant.

    The faithful ensure that Aldrich, Devourer of Gods, remains undisturbed, by taking the form of loyal spirits and hunting down those who would trespass the ruined cathedral.

    These guys were Aldrich's protectors, who provided him safety while he ate. They bring him human dregs, as proof of their service.

    Secondly, there were the Evangelists:

    Robe of an evangelist sent from the cathedral.

    These teachers, all women, came to enlighten inhabitants of the Undead Settlement and sent carriers on the path of sacrifice.

    These lovely ladies went to the Undead Settlement to find sacrifices for Aldrich. These sacrifices were sent along the Road of Sacrifices to the Cathedral of the Deep, where, presumably, they were eaten by Aldrich. Again, probably just because he wanted more power, and more food is always good, right?

    We've already taken a look at the Deacons and the Cathedral Knights, so next we'll cover the Grave Wardens - from their twin blades:

    The grave wardens of the cathedral, who put down reincarnating corpses, wield weapons that cause profuse bleeding, for the loss of blood and bodily fluids is said to slow reanimation. 

    So, they put down undead. Does that seem like a bit of an anomaly to you? The rest of Aldrich's followers were either focused on worshipping him (Deacons) or protecting him (Knights and his Faithful). So why are the Grave Wardens wanting to put down undead?

    Well, theory time. This harkens back to the old Dark Souls 1 days. The chosen undead in that game was destined to either link the fire, succeeding Lord Gwyn and extending the Age of Fire (and thus the Undead Curse), or ushering in an Age of Dark and eradicating the Gods. Aldrich wants neither; as evidenced by his soul, he wanted an Age of Deep, and to devour the Gods. If a Chosen Undead were to rise and usher in an Age of Dark, Aldrich would have no Gods to eat, and if the Chosen Undead were to link the fire, Aldrich would have to deal with even more undead and the possibility of the cycle repeating. End theory time.

    Finally, the Archdeacons. We know there are three of them from their Archdeacon's Set.

    Of the three Archdeacons of the Deep, one cast off his white crown and left the cathedral to stand by Aldrich.

    Of the three Archdeacons of the Deep, one stood over Aldrich's casket, with hope that he would return one day.

    Of the Archdeacons of the Deep, one attended to Rosaria, Mother of Rebirth, whom he deemed a goddess.

    But which was which? One of the Archdeacons is present in the Deacons of the Deep Fight, and with their soul we learn who.

    After Aldrich left for the Boreal valley, Archdeacon Royce remained in the cathedral with the high priests, to keep eternal watch over their master's coffin.

    So that was Royce who stayed to guard his master's casket. Another Archdeacon is McDonnell, the Archdeacon who went with Aldrich, who is found in Irithyll, and offers the Aldrich Faithful covenant. We learn from the Deep Soul sorcery that the Boreal Valley is his homeland, and that McDonnell is an Archdeacon based on his staff:

    Sorcery of Archdeacon Royce and his deacons, said to have been imparted to them by McDonnell of the Boreal Valley. 

    The Archdeacon McDonnell's trespass, the sin of channelling faith for sorcery, transformed what was once merely a symbol of ecclesiastic authority into a catalyst of sorceries.

    And finally, Archdeacon Klimt. This is the guy who went to serve Rosaria, as mentioned in her covenant item:

    Sacred seal of Archdeacon Klimt, who served Rosaria, Mother of Rebirth. Equip to pledge oneself to the Rosaria's Fingers covenant.

    So, in summary, we've got three Archdeacons. One remained to guard his master's coffin. Another accompanied his master, but is found dead in Irithyll. The third serves Rosaria, but isn't seen at all in game (as far as I know). We've spent an awful lot of time looking at some background on Aldrich, so now let's look into the Devourer of Gods himself.

    Devourer of Gods

    This is Aldrich's other title, the one attributed to him in his boss fight. Our first description of Aldrich himself is actually given by Hawkwood, who describes him as...

    "A right and proper cleric who developed a habit of devouring men. He ate so many that he bloated like a drowned pig then softened into sludge, so they stuck him in the Cathedral of the Deep and they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose…"

    Notice that Hawkwood uses the word "made." Aldrich never chose to be a Lord of Cinder, he was forced to link the fire because of his power. He also has this nasty little hobby of "devouring men." We don't know where he developed it from, but arguably it was because of the Deep's corruption; he hardly would have been made a Saint if otherwise, though this is Dark Souls, so anything is possible.

    But as mentioned above, Aldrich didn't want to be a Lord of Cinder. Hence why he left the Cathedral of the Deep following the tolling of the bell. He wasn't interested in linking the fire again, and had a different mission entirely, as shown by his Cinders of a Lord.

    Aldrich became a lord by devouring men, but was disillusioned with his throne, and so took to devouring gods instead.

    His motive for devouring Gods is implied below in his soul's description.

    When Aldrich ruminated on the fading of the fire, it inspired visions of a coming age of the deep sea. 
    He knew the path would be arduous, but he had no fear. He would devour the gods himself.

    He wanted to usher in an Age of Deep. But to do so, he needed power, and where would he get power? From the Gods. So he set off for his homeland, Irithyll. Anri will enlighten us why...

    We reached the Cathedral of the Deep, but... Aldrich's coffin was empty. The man eater must have left for his true home. The little doll in the empty coffin told me Aldrich is said to hail from Irithyll, in the Boreal Valley. An ancient, fabled city..."

    And the doll's description reads...

    Small silverwork doll depicting a young squire.

    In the legendary old city of Irithyll situated in the Boreal Valley, the Pontiff Sulyvahn gave this doll to valued subjects, so that they might use it to cross the barrier when they return home. 

    Listen carefully, and you can hear it say, "Wherever you go, the moon still sets in Irithyll. Wherever you may be, Irithyll is your home."

    So, Pontiff Sulyvahn gave this to Aldrich, and it was obviously treasured by the Saint since he kept it so close at hand. This is needed to break the seal to Irithyll. I'm not sure of the exact relation between the Pontiff and Aldrich, and I'll save the Pontiff for another article (he's got his finger in every pie, and comes up a lot). But why did Aldrich leave for Irithyll anyway? What could he possibly gain from returning to his homeland when he has a steady stream of sacrifices to eat and a whole church who worship him back at the Cathedral?

    It's because his boy the Pontiff has a little present for him.

    Pontiff Sulyvahn of Irithyll imprisoned a god of the old royalty in the abandoned cathedral, to be fed to the devourer.

    That's right, the Pontiff has prepared dinner for Aldrich. And who was this God? We only need to look at the two items that can be made from Aldrich's soul to find out. 

    Longbow of Darkmoon Gwyndolin. who was gradually devoured by Aldrich..

    Aldrich dreamt as he slowly devoured the God of the Darkmoon. In this dream, he perceived the form of a young. pale girl in hiding.

    The former is the Darkmoon Longbow, Gwyndolin's chosen weapon, and the latter is the Lifehunt Scythe. What's particularly interesting about the latter is this pale, young girl. I personally believe this to be Priscilla. The miracle itself references the weapon that can be made from her soul, and she is also a young, pale girl hiding away in the Painted World of Ariamis.

    In summary: Aldrich needed the power of the Gods to usher in a new Age of Deep. He left for Irithyll because the Pontiff Sulyvahn had imprisoned a God for him to eat (Gwyndolin), which would grant him more power. He also possibly ate Priscilla (Lifehunt Scythe). But unfortunately, his plans were interrupted by a certain Ashen One, and thus ends the life of Aldrich, Saint of the Deep.

    So, there you have it. Aldrich, Saint of the Deep, explained.

    1 down, 4 to go... Anybody got a preference for who they'd like to see next? Abyss Watchers, Yhorm, Ludleth, or Lothric?

    Catch you later!

  • Member
    April 28, 2016

    No! Aldrich ate Priscillia-chan! She was best Dark Souls waifu

  • Member
    April 28, 2016
    Nah, Gwyndolin was and always will be the best waifu :P
  • Member
    April 28, 2016

    Waifu war?