Demon (lore)

For other uses, see Demon (disambiguation).

Demons are a race in the Dark Souls universe.

Description[]

Most demons in Dark Souls have demonstrated to be intelligent enough to craft their own equipment using archtree wood, titanite and demon bones, and none of them ever used weapons forged by other races. Despite their blasphemous birth and hideous appearance.

Lore[]

Dark Souls[]

After The Witch of Izalith found an immense and powerful Lord Soul near the First Flame, she pooled her and her daughters' newfound strength into aiding fellow Lords in winning the war against the Dragons and built their civilization underground.^[1] They continued to experiment with the power of fire and souls; at a certain point, driven by ambition and arrogance, Izalith, using her own Lord Soul as a basis, tried to recreate the First Flame, the primordial force that had brought life into the world.^[2][3][4] This, however, was not entirely successful, resulting in the Flame of Chaos, an unstable power that the witch was unable to control. She was initially consumed by it and became a beast of chaos fire along with two of her daughters: the "Bed of Chaos".^[3][4] This creature, fueled by the power of the Flame of Chaos, became a seedbed for a new life form: Demons.^[3]

The first demon who manifested itself was the youngest son of Izalith. He was a younger brother of the other witches who gifted him a magic ring to negate his pain from the lava sores that tortured him.^[5] However, the still-unstable Flame of Chaos led him to transform into a monstrous demon and drop his ring, leaving the flames of chaos to burn him constantly as he couldn't control them,^[6] while also generating another distorted Centipede Demon. Despite becoming the first distorted creature created by the Flame of Chaos, at a certain point Izalith and her daughters managed to stabilize the new power they had created and began to generate the first real demons:^[7] life forms with stable bodies and capable of controlling the flame of chaos within each of them. These new creatures were not absolutely beastly; rather, they learned to coexist with the already-present society of Izalith, becoming "demon priests" of the Flame of Chaos and even going so far as to learn the primordial flame sorceries from their Lord and her daughters.^[7][8] The city of Izalith expanded to accommodate its new citizens, building structures for the demons on its borders.^[9]

At one point Izalith, aiming to gain greater sway over the Flame of Chaos, lost all control of the power again and never regained it: Chaos engulfed the Lord and her daughters before scorching their city with them.^{[10][11][12][13]} Izalith and her two daughters directly involved in the experiment were left permanently scarred, reduced to a monstrous lignified creature anchored in the throne room at the center of the city.^[14] Of the daughters of Izalith, few managed to escape. Quelaag and her sister's lower bodies were molded into deformed demonic spiders and the flames of chaos engulfed them but they managed to escape the city and survive on its borders, carving out a domain for themselves.^[15] The only other survivor, who managed to avoid the corruption of chaos and retain a normal body, was Quelana, who remained in self-imposed exile around the ruins of her country for centuries.^[16]

The societal collapse of Izalith, left without their Lord and devoured by the out-of-control Flame of Chaos, pushed Gwyn to wage war against the chaos demons that were now free,^[17] developing weapons and fighting techniques strong enough to face the size of their new enemies^[18] and sending his Silver Knights to Izalith.^[17][19] During the war their armor and weapons were charred black^[17] but despite their strength Gwyn's knights failed to defeat the demons or destroy the Bed of Chaos;^[20] they eventually retreated, only managing to banish the demons underground although they enslaved some lesser demons who would become servants of the gods.^[21][22] At some point after Gwyn linked the First Flame and Gwyn's firstborn son was dethroned and exiled,^[23] nearly all of the other deities abandoned Anor Londo.^[24] Despite the conflict, many demons survived, and the Bed of Chaos meanwhile continued to generate new demons; with no leadership present in Anor Londo and the Silver Knights remaining relegated to protecting the city of the gods, some lesser Capra and Taurus demons^[25] began to rise to the surface, making their way through the ruins of the Undead Burg.^[26]

When a Chosen Undead was able to ring the Bells of Awakening, overcome the challenges of Sen's Fortress and reach Anor Londo thus being rewarded with the Lordvessel, they would be guided by Kingseeker Frampt to find immense souls to fill the receptacle and link the fading First Flame to succeed Gwyn in his sacrifice.^[27] The Undead would thus have delved into the dangerous and pestilent Blighttown^[28] until they reached the edges of the ancient domain of Izalith. Here their path would be blocked by the half-demon daughter of Izalith Chaos Witch Quelaag but, after killing her, the Undead was able to gain access to the Demon Ruins. Making their way through the demons that infested the area, they reached the lost city of Izalith and the throne room where Izalith resided, having turned into the distorted Bed of Chaos, still fused with her two daughters and her original body reduced to that of a Chaos Bug under all her roots.^[29] The Chosen Undead thus challenged and killed her to obtain her powerful Lord Soul.^[30] The destruction of the original Flame of Chaos ended Izalith's misery, but it also marked the beginning of the end for the demons who, without the Bed of Chaos that had spawned them, became a dying race.^[31]

Although the lower half of their bodies were transformed into a chaos spider, Quelaag and her sister managed to carve out a domain for themselves on the edge of the realm of Izalith,^[32] near what was called Blighttown. While the older Quelaag maintained control over their refuge thanks to her strength, the younger one, who was a Fire Keeper with an immense amount of humanity within her, began producing eggs by the dozen, until they covered their entire lair.^[33] In time, the Undead exiled to the depths of the Undead Burg and who had ended up in the rotten Blighttown^[34] chose to serve the Flame of Chaos and the two demonic daughters of Izalith of their own free will.^[35]

As a symbol of their dedication they became Egg Burdened, welcoming the parasitic eggs produced by Quelaag's sister into their bodies.^[35][36][37] In this way the eggs would hatch inside them, first producing Vile Maggots which would then develop into Giant Mosquitoes and ultimately into smaller insectoid demons: the Cragspiders.^[38][39] Quelaag's plan, with the help of her sister, was therefore to reproduce in miniature a version of the Bed of Chaos that would use humanity as fertilizer for eggs and the undead as hosts to create new, albeit lesser, demons. To receive help in their goal they even created the covenant of the Chaos Servants,^[40] which would welcome servants of the Daughter of Chaos with the aim of accumulating humanity by killing other Undead which they would then give to Quelaag's sister and in exchange get the chance to learn their pyromancies and a shortcut to their hometown of Lost Izalith.^[41]

The sorcerers of Oolacile, capable of manipulating the forces of nature^[42] with knowledge and means that not even the sorcerers of Vinheim were able to replicate,^[43] created the Sanctuary Guardians, an amalgamation of traits from several animals like lions, goats, scorpions and birds,^[44][45] to defend the Sanctuary Garden of their country.^[46] Although these creatures were not created by the Bed of Chaos and therefore cannot be defined as "demons", the process with which they were obtained, mixing characteristics of different animals thanks to the sorcery of souls and life, makes them very similar to the demons of chaos, produced by a flame created in imitation of the First Flame.^[44]

Dark Souls II[]

Despite the fact that the Bed of Chaos had been destroyed by a Chosen Undead, a fragment of the Flames of Chaos managed to survive and drifted to settle underground in the far north of Drangleic. Here it reformed as an expanse of fire, lava and roots, starting to give birth to atrocities and monsters that cursed the region, leading people to flee in fear.^[47][48] Eventually the Ivory King and his knights managed to eliminate the demons that arose from the Old Chaos and drive them back into the depths. The sovereign, thanks to the power of his soul, thus built the kingdom of Eleum Loyce over that land and erected an immense cathedral, a fortress city and a Garrison Wall above the Chaos, in an attempt to contain it and its horrors with all his efforts, even going so far as to use the power of his own soul to stem his raging flames.^[49][50][51]

However the flames of Chaos would not be sated, and over time the Ivory King was drained of his vigour; sensing the degradation of his power,^[49] he decided to plunge into Chaos' heart in an attempt to reduce its flames alone^[47] but was devoured by the chaos, becoming an empty husk controlled by it.^[50] After their King was consumed by Chaos, many of Eleum Loyce's faithful knights decided to follow him and put him out of his misery^[47] but their souls too were corrupted by the flames,^[52] leading them to lose all sense of purpose and being, leaving them driven only by the urge of expunging any who might disturb the flames even if they were former compatriots.^[53] With their armor charred and burnt black by fire and still burning in agony, they remained as empty shells controlled by the Chaos alongside their once-proud king.^[54]

As a last resort to stem the advance of the Chaos that couldn't be contained, the decision was made to "fling open" the ivory gates of the fortress of Eleum Loyce.

Alsanna, as the heiress to her Lord's wishes and in reverence of the apocalypse, devoted herself and the power of her Dark Soul to a ritual in the hopes of appeasing the raging flame.^[47][55] With the ivory gates opened, the land of Eleum Loyce grew cold and lifeless, turning into a frigid expanse, in an attempt to freeze Chaos along with the entire country.^[56][57] The remaining Knights of Eleum Loyce remained to watch over the Garrison Ward under the King's final orders to contain the Chaos, waiting patiently for a new leader strong enough to guide them into its depths, while Alsanna remained in prayer inside the Cathedral over the depths to continue the ritual.^[47] The Old Chaos was thus contained, albeit it corrupted the Ivory King and his knights, nevertheless remaining confined by Alsanna's tireless effort. Chaos was repressed until a Bearer of the Curse came along and destroyed the Burnt King and his corrupted Eleum Loyce knights, definitively eradicating the offshoots of Chaos from Drangleic.

Dark Souls III[]

This section lacks sources and needs expansions before being considered useful and complete

By the time of the awakening of the Ashen One, the Flame of Chaos had begun to fail, making the ancient Demons a dying race. The ruins of Izalith are littered with huge piles of corpses of ancient Demons, most of them belonging to lesser Capra Demons and Taurus Demons, while few surviving specimens aimlessly roam a world that has no place for them. These beings, called Stray Demons, look like their ancestors only superficially since their body is smaller and made mostly by rock, wood and lava (much like the Bed of Chaos). They have decayed and petrified to the point of being able to spew mere boulders, instead of flames.^[58] The Batwing Demons, a lesser breed of ancient Demons, were unfazed by the Chaos Flame's extinction and kept their duty as "ferrymen" for those who followed the legacy of Gwyn (thus proving a deep connection between their kin and the Gods).

Like humanity and the Gods of Anor Londo of old, the demons seek to rekindle the Flame of Chaos to preserve their race. A Demon Prince, a champion of their race, challenged Prince Lorian of Lothric, only to be defeated and retreat without his memory of the flames.^[59] No longer able to pursue the rekindling of the Chaos Flame, the demon race was condemned to extinction; as time went on, even the few remaining demons all but lacked any trace of the flame within; one such lost demon, reduced to little more than a wood and stone golem, served as a gatekeeper of Lothric.

Theories[]

• It is possible to theorize that Izalith, in her experiment to create a new First Flame with the power of her Lord Soul, used the Dark Soul as an added element; because of this, Demons and Humans share traces of a connection.
  • The power of weapons infused with chaos scales with humanity like an Abyss-tainted weapon.^[60] In addition, Chaos Flame Embers are able to infuse weapons with the power of the flames of chaos but are also augmented by humanity.^[61]
  • Quelaag's Sister was able to become a Fire Keeper despite being corrupted by chaos, allowing her body to become the host of an immense mass of humanity.^[62] She is able to regain her power and body, although debilitated by a blight, by feeding herself with humanities.^[63]
  • The majority of demons encountered possess humanities, either because they gained them to absorb their power or because they possessed them in the first place; either way implying a compatibility between demons and humans.^[64]
  • The Dark Soul seems to have some unique properties that would motivate its use by Izalith: its capability of generating life,^[65] as well as its seemingly endless capacity to do so, never losing its power in the process.

Known Chaos Demons[]

• Ceaseless Discharge
• Centipede Demon
• Demon Firesage
• Asylum Demon
• Stray Demon
• Capra Demon
• Taurus Demon
• Demon Statue
• Batwing Demon
• Chaos Eater
• Quelaag (partially)
• Quelaag's Sister (partially)
• Cragspider
• Old Demon King
• Demon Prince
• Demon (Dark Souls III)
• Stray Demon (Dark Souls III)
• Demon Cleric
• Demon Statue

Trivia[]

• In the region of Lordran several creatures are addressed as "demons" despite the fact that they are not part of the life generated by the Bed of Chaos:
  • The Titanite Demons are creatures that arose from enchanted Titanite Slabs after the passing of the Nameless Blacksmith Deity.^[66]
  • The Crow Demons are humans that worshipped Velka, Goddess of Sin to the point where their bodies were warped and became half-crow.^[67]

• In the region of Drangleic several creatures are addressed as "demons" despite the fact that they are not part of the life generated by the Bed of Chaos:
  • The Covetous Demon was once a man whose deep affection for Queen Mytha was unrequited. Despite this he never left the queen and, entranced by some perverse love, he started to devour all thing and even humans in an expression of desire, gorging himself to the point of transforming into a monstrous creature.^[68]
  • The Demon of Song was once a man that was unable to resist the temptations of the flesh and developed a taste for humans, to the point of transforming into a monstrous creature.^[69]
  • The Smelter Demon was a mass of iron, one of the constructs given life by the Old Iron King when he obtained the power to grant life to heaps of iron and molded a great array of metallic automatons with a soul.^[70]

Gallery[]

Izalith and her two daughters, the seedbed and mother of all demons.

Ceaseless Discharge, the first demon to ever appear.

The Centipede Demon, the second demon to ever appear.

The Demon Firesage, one the demons of the first stable generation and priests of the Flame of Chaos.

A Demon controlling the Undead Asylum.

A stray Demon.

A lesser Taurus Demon.

A lesser Capra Demon.

The Demon Statue, an underdeveloped demon.

Quelaag, one of Izalith's daughters and partially turned into a demon.

Quelaag's Sister, one of Izalith's daughters and partially turned into a demon.

The lesser Batwing Demons subdued by Anor Londo.

The lesser Cragspiders, insectoid demons spawned from the evolution of Quelaag's sister eggs.

The Ivory King corrupted by the Flames of Chaos

References[]