The Dark Souls series is known for many things, its often interconnected world, its thrilling boss fights, and its truly unique, bleak atmosphere. However, among it all, Dark Souls is known to be a complicated game to explain. For years, dedicated fans have ruminated on the series' story, delving into every single item description and every scrap of environmental storytelling to uncover the reason why players are carrying out certain tasks, and just what it all means. This rampant fan speculation has led to passionate YouTubers like The Ashen Hollow and VaatiVidya creating a career based around the seemingly endless discussion surrounding Dark Souls' story.
It may have taken over a decade and two more entries, but fans believe they've finally figured out a general timeline for the Dark Souls series. While many aspects of Dark Souls' story are up for interpretation, there are a wealth of hard facts that act as a base for the series, and do pinpoint one clear timeline through all three Dark Souls titles.
The Age of Ancients, The Age of Fire, and The Rise of the Abyss
The Dark Souls timeline begins with the Age of Ancients, depicting a seemingly idyllic world in which intelligent dragons roamed freely, and lived peacefully with nature. This apparent paradise would soon come to an end, however, as with the sudden appearance of the First Flame, human-like creatures would appear within the world.
As the First Flame burned, three primitive human-like beings stepped into the fire. Doing this granted them each Lord Souls, with one receiving a Soul of Light, one receiving a Soul of Death, and one receiving a Soul of Life. At the same time, the ancient Furtive Pygmy stumbled upon the Dark Soul, which gave these human-like beings Humanity, thus creating the species of Humans.
The receivers of these three Lord Souls became gods, now holding almost limitless power. The holder of Light, Gwyn, decided to use this power to slaughter the ancient dragons, using lightning to penetrate their otherwise unbreakable scales. With the assistance of Nito, the Lord of Death, and the Witch of Izalith, the Lord of Life, Gwyn managed to wipe out the vast majority of the dragon race. Thus, the Age of Fire begun.
While Gwyn created cities across the land, now known as Lordran, Nito retreated to the Tomb of Giants for an eternal slumber, and the Witch spent her lifetime creating the art of Pyromancy. As time went on, Humans would come to inhabit these cities, leading to a prosperous age.
But beneath the town of Oolacile, a darkness is growing. This ominous darkness is known simply as The Abyss, and begins to spread through the town. A Primordial Serpent named Kaathe, who is devoted to ushering in an Age of Dark, manipulates the townspeople to uncover the body of Manus, the Father of the Abyss, and likely the original Furtive Pygmy.
As Manus is resurrected, the dark of the Abyss spreads at an uncontrollable rate. Fearing that this will end the Age of Fire, Gwyn sends his right-hand man, the Knight Artorias, to fight back the Abyss.
While it seems as though the Abyss has been pushed back, darkness is still inevitable, and the First Flame begins to die out. The Witch of Izalith attempts to use her pyromancies to keep the flame alight, but this backfires and deforms her while also bringing the city of Izalith down around her, and creating the Flame of Chaos that, in turn, mutates the citizens of Izalith into Demons.
Seeing no other choice, Gywn sacrifices himself atop the First Flame, which does continue the Age of Fire, but also gives Humans the Undead Curse, which forces them to come back from death, each time losing more and more Humanity until they are just soulless husks known as Hollows.
The Chosen Undead's Journey
The player-character in Dark Souls is one such Human afflicted with the Undead Curse. Upon escaping the Undead Asylum and heading to Firelink Shrine, they are compelled to ring the Bells of Awakening. Upon doing so, they are told by the Primordial Serpent Frampt that they are a Chosen Undead, and that they are destined to rekindle the First Flame.
To fulfill the prophecy, the Chosen Undead must gather the remaining Lord Souls across Lordran and bring them to the Kiln of the First Flame, becoming more and more powerful with each foe slain. As the Chosen Undead reaches the Kiln of the First Flame and defeats a Hollow Gywn, there are given the choice to keep the First Flame burning, or usher in an Age of Dark.
The Rise of Drangleic and The War of the Giants
Regardless of what the Chosen Undead decided, a new Age of Fire inevitably occurs at some stage in the future. The grand kingdom of Drangleic now stands where Lordran once did, with a new ruler, King Vendrick, on the throne. After a few years of ruling, a woman by the name of Nashandra seeks out the King, warning him of an imminent Giant attack.
After a bloody and brutal war, Vendrick and his forces return to Drangleic, bearing new powers and abilities stolen from the Giants. As Vendrick's brother, Aldia, starts to experiment with this technology on the Undead, the King learns of Nashandra's true heritage. Nashandra, now Queen to the Throne, is a daughter of the Abyss, being one part of Manus' soul. Upon learning of this betrayal, and realizing he was manipulated into warring with the Giants, Vendrick seals himself away in the Undead Crypt.
The Bearer of the Curse's Journey
Another Chosen Undead, this time referred to as the Bearer of the Curse, journeys to the Drangleic to fulfill their destiny. Guided by the Emerald Herald Shanalotte, the Bearer of the Curse seeks out Drangleic Castle. Once there, Nashandra tells them that they need to unlock the Throne of Want if they wish to become Human again.
Upon opening the door to the Throne of Want, and defeating the Throne Watcher and Defender, the Bearer of the Curse comes to face-to-face with Nashandra, now appearing as a dark specter with skeletal features. With Nashandra's defeat, the Bearer of the Curse can once again choose to sit on the Throne, rekindling the Flame, or to walk away and cause a new Age of Dark.
The Fading Flame Gives Rise to The Lords of Cinder
This cycle continues over and over again, finally coming to an end with the Lothric dynasty, who have decided not to link the Flame. This causes panic across the land, ushering in a series of resurrections of old beings that once linked the Flame, known as the Lords of Cinder. But one-by-one, each of these resurrected Lords of Cinder decides to shy away from their duty, using their newfound life to gain power, or hide away from the rest of the world.
The Ashen One's Journey
Enter the Ashen One, one final Chosen Undead who is destined to seek the Flame. As they arrive in Firelink Shrine, the Ashen One is told by the Firekeeper that they must seek out and defeat all the hiding Lords of Cinder, and bring their ashes to the Shrine. After a lengthy journey across Lothric, the Ashen One returns to Firelink Shrine, and places all the Lords of Cinders' ashes upon their thrones.
Doing this transports the Ashen One to the Kiln of the First Flame, where they come into contact with the Soul of Cinder, a being that contains all the Souls of the previous Lords of Cinder. Defeating the Soul of Cinder gives the Ashen One a difficult decision to make. The Ashen One can choose to rekindle the Flame, and start another cycle, snuff the flame and start an Age of Dark, take the Flame and its power for themselves, or consume the Flame, and become a Lord of Hollows, potentially starting an unseen Age that balances the Light and the Dark.
