Dark Souls features secrets and lore that must be thoroughly examined in order to unravel the full story. FromSoftware is no stranger to optional, hard-to-find areas that have little effect on the main story, but include entire narratives of their own.
The Painted World of Ariamis is an area hidden deep within the city of the gods, Anor Londo. Difficult to enter and leave, this area hidden within a painting holds many secrets that the gods of Dark Souls wanted to keep from the rest of the world. Upon diving deep into the enemies and items found in this world, players can uncover the secrets that have been banished.
Finding The Painted World
Finding and entering the Painted World of Ariamis requires many steps to be followed. The first challenge is finding the painting within Anor Londo, where player must navigate the ceiling rafters in a chapel to reach a hidden lift. This chapel is the only area in the game that features the Painting Guardian enemies, and once onto the lift, it is easy to miss the secret entrance to the bottom floor of the chapel.
If players are keen enough to operate the life and take it down instead of up, they will be rewarded with access to the bottom floor of the chapel of Anor Londo, which is guarded by more Painting Guardians. Once the area is cleared, all that remains is a giant painting on the far wall. As foreboding as this painting looks, it does nothing unless the player possesses a specific item: the Peculiar Doll.
This item can only be found by going back to the Undead Asylum and entering the cell players were locked in when their journey began. Upon inspection, the doll reads “A strange doll in strange dress. There once was an abomination who had no place in this world. She clutched this doll tightly, and eventually was drawn into a cold and lonely painted world.” This doll is considered a key within the game, and the description points players back toward the large painting in Anor Londo.
After returning to the painting with the Peculiar Doll, the player is then transported to the Painted World of Ariamis. The world is seen as a desolate, snowy town atop a mountain with no exit. Players are unable to leave this purgatory until they discover all the secrets hidden within.
Exiled By The Gods
Once inside the painting, players will notice many hollows and other creatures that seem off compared to their regular counterparts. Enemies such as the engorged hollow cause the rare toxic status effect, and further into the world players will encounter crossbred enemies such as wheel skeletons and crow demons. In the middle of a courtyard area, surrounding a statue of a woman and child, players will find a group of phalanx hollows reminiscent of one of the bosses in Demon's Souls.
The enemies and items in the Painted World of Ariamis have been put there by the gods in order to isolate them from the rest of the world. Even the gods of Dark Souls feared certain things and thus created a hidden world to banish undesirable creatures.
Xanthous King, Jeremiah
In a graveyard within the painted world, there is an enemy spirit that will invade the player’s world named King Jeremiah. This character uses a notched whip and excels in pyromancy, wearing a large bandage around his oversized head. If his armor set is inspected, it claims that Jeremiah is known as the legendary exile, sent to this world as a punishment.
Though nothing is clearly stated about who King Jeremiah is or where he came from, his use of Chaos Flame Pyromancy implies he is in some way connected to the Witch of Izalith. There are also theories that suggest the large bandage on his head covers a parasite similar to those found in the Demon Ruins, based on the presence of the Egg Vermifuge item that cures the egg parasite affliction in Ariamis.
Velka, Goddess of Sin
Throughout the Painted World of Ariamis, there are many enemies and items that describe Velka, Goddess of Sin. Velka is never seen, but is often referred to by her Pardoner, Oswald of Carin, as well as items such as the sword Velka’s Rapier. Velka’s job was to identify sin and dole out the appropriate punishment, and she was referred to as a rogue deity, possibly because she practiced the occult. Crows are often associated with Velka, and many crow demons are found around the area guarding Velka’s Rapier. This sword is especially curious because it causes magic and occult damage.
Near the rapier is another important occult item, the Dark Ember. This smithing stone is used to create occult weapons, further implying that Velka and her occult items were banished to the Painted World of Ariamis because they held the power to slay the gods. Enemies and bosses within Anor Londo, including Gwyn, are particularly weak to the occult, which would explain why it has been forbidden.
Crossbreed Priscilla
The final encounter in the Painted World of Ariamis is with Crossbreed Priscilla. This character towers over the player, and appears to be half dragon and half human. She has a large, furry tail and scales on her face and neck, wielding a large scythe. However, Priscilla does not attack the player, she instead offers them a way out of the world she is trapped in. This implies Priscilla is aware of how to escape her fate, but chooses to remain secluded from the world. If the player chooses to bypass Priscilla, they can safely jump off the ledge behind her and finally exit the area, leaving her imprisoned in the painting.
However, if Priscilla is defeated, her dropped weapons give more insight into her banishment. Similar to Seath, if the player is able to cut off Priscilla’s tail during the fight, they will obtain Priscilla’s Dagger - which deals occult damage and has the ability of “lifehunt,” which is a powerful version of the bleed status effect.If the player defeats Priscilla and transposes her soul, they will receive the Lifehunt Scythe, which is a powerful weapon that was feared by the gods for its lifehunt abilities.
Priscilla’s origins are never clearly stated, but theories suggest the doll used to enter the painted world is hers, and that she is the offspring or creation of Seath the Scaleless. Seath and Priscilla are the only two white dragons in Dark Souls, and Seath was known for magical experimentation. Much like everything else banished to this prison, Priscilla was probably hidden away in the Painted World of Ariamis because she possessed the abilities to challenge the gods.
Dark Souls is available now for PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
