Mirrah is a nation shaped by its geography. Located to the far east of Drangleic, it is constantly beset by invasion from its neighbors — an existential threat that the country has to contend with every single day. Because of this, Mirrah’s military is its most valued asset, resulting in it becoming a country of […]
It is unclear if Melfia, original name Melvia, (メルヴィア) existed as its own country before the introduction of its Magic Academy, much like its thematic predecessor Vinheim. And like the Dragon School of Dark Souls, (DS1) this is largely because the magic school has completely consumed its cultural identity since its inception, which in this […]
Preface The Gutter is perhaps the most visually appealing iteration of FromSoftware’s infamous trash levels, largely because it is divorced from the traditional swamp aesthetic. Despite inheriting almost all of the themes and motifs from past levels of its ilk, omitting their most recognizable aspect helps alleviate the repetition. That said, a more creative aesthetic […]
Despite the provocative imagery and creative editing, the opening sequence is fairly straightforward. A man had been trudging through a forest during a heavy storm where he had at one point collapsed. He serves as a generic stand-in for our player character prior to selecting our appearance and class, and so I shall refer to […]
Preface Heide embodies perhaps the most frustrating aspect of FromSoftware’s approach to Dark Souls II. We are provided very little to work with even compared to similarly ancient events in the original Dark Souls. (DS1) As a result, reconstructing the overall picture of these ancient civilizations relies more heavily on inference than ever before, though […]
The Ashen Mist Heart is literally a “core of ash fog” (灰の霧の核) which has taken that peculiar shape — in other words, a dense mass of fog not unlike the mist seen in the opening cinematic for the original Dark Souls. (DS1) It should come as no surprise then that it is an “art” conjured […]
While giant rats are nothing new to Dark Souls, a rat kingdom certainly is. Various beasts have displayed similar intelligence to the bipedal races, some even capable of speech like Shalquoir. Nothing stops these intelligent creatures from banding together and forming their own societies. Therefore, it is reasonable for rats to establish a kingdom for […]
Lokey Lore 