Gravelord Nito

Gravelord Nito (Japanese: ���王ニト, Hepburn: Haka-ō Nito, lit. 'Tomb King Nito'), also known as Nito, The First of the Dead (Japanese: 最初の死者ニト, Hepburn: Saisho no Shisha Nito, lit. 'Nito, First of the Dead'), is a character and a boss of Dark Souls and the leader of the Gravelord Servant covenant.

Location[]

Gravelord Nito can be found at the end of the Tomb of the Giants.

Description[]

Nito's body is that of an immensely sized human skeleton, though the ribcage is packed with bits of dead matter, and blown open as a result. The torso leans forwards as well, giving him a hunchback appearance, and his true skull is tucked into the dead matter and bones. His left leg is built like those on a dog or other four legged creature, while his right leg is humanlike, giving him a sort of handicap and reducing his movement to a slow limp. The other skeletons merely adorn him as armor, with his entire torso covered in ribcages and skulls, and arms and legs dangling all around him.

What was once an all concealing cloak looking like black fur or feather, apparently conjured at will, is reduced to a tattered hairlike cloak. When dormant, Nito did not seem to wear it until after generating a glowing fume of lavender white power, likely the "miasma of death" he is known for. His left hand is natural, his right is equipped with a triple bone forearm, which terminates in a sharpened bone blade covered with his miasma.

Lore[]

Dark Souls[]

Nito is one of the primordial humanoid creatures that appeared underground after the First Flame appeared, bringing life, death and "disparity"^[1]. He was one of those who found the four Lord Souls, souls of immense power, together with Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight, the Witch of Izalith and much later the Furtive Pygmy^[1].

At some point Nito would die but, thanks to the power of his soul, he was able to come back to life with necromancy, becoming a living mass of conjoined skeletons^[2] and the "first of the dead"^[1]. Nito thus learned to harness the power of his Lord Soul to produce a dark power^[3] capable of bringing death to every living being^[4] and he infused it in his Gravelord Sword, crafted with the bones of the fallen and exuding his miasma of death as a toxin letal for any living being^[5]

He would then ally himself with the other Lords, Gwyn and Izalith, and take part in their war against the Dragons apparently alone^[1]. While Gwyn peeled the scales of the dragons with his lightning bolts and fought them together with his Silver Knights and Izalith and her witches weaved great firestorms, destroying the archtrees and burning the dragons^[1], Nito unleashed his miasma of death, rotting the archtrees and infecting the dragons^[1][6]. And so, after a long struggle, Nito and the Lords emerged victorious, exterminating most of the archdragons and thus conquering the world^[1].

After the war, while Gwyn developed his civilization of Anor Londo and Izalith that of Izalith, Nito returned to the depths of the Catacombs, an immense necropolis, to slumber within the Tomb of the Giants, an even deeper place that housed the skeletons of enormous and bestial creatures^[7] and turning the caves into his domain of light-devouring death^[8]. In addition, the deceased members of the race of the Gods^[9] of Anor Londo and their priests^[10] also rested in the Tombs of the Giants, implying how Nito continued to collaborate with Gwyn by offering the Lord his domain to bury his people and servants. Nito would thus take on the role of administering the death of all manner of beings, directly offering much of his Lord Soul to continue propagating death^[11], becoming known with the title of "Tomb King"^[12].

However, Nito did not carry out the task in complete solitude but would have accepted the brave humans who had visited his tomb and wished to serve him, becoming part of the covenant of the Gravelord Servants^[13]. After having received a Gravelord Sword infused with a toxin lethal for every being^[14], their task would have been to employ the Eyes of Death to spread disaster across time and space, causing hostile spirits to invade them and thus bringing more ruin and allowing the Eyes of Death to multiply and continue to spread death^[15]. As Nito continued to oversee death in the world he would accept proof of his servants' success in the form of new Eyes of Death, rewarding them with his miracles capable of summoning magical copies of his Gravelord Sword^[16] and for his closest servant the ability to use a stronger ritual produced with the offering of much death and many Eyes^[17]

At one point Nito created a ritual capable of further bolstering bonfires using Kindlings so that Undead can collect even more Estus from them^[18]. The ritual was employed by clerics of the Way of White, and the Undead can imitate the process in the same manner by consuming their Humanity at bonfires^[19]. The connection therefore implies Nito's involvement in the religious system of the gods who was looking for a "chosen one" among the Undead capable of linking the First Flame and following Gwyn's sacrifice^[20]

At some point, a necromancer known as "Pinwheel" and composed of the fusion of a father, a mother and a son^[21][22][23], arrived in the Catacombs and managed to steal Nito's Rite of Kindling^[24] and part of his power^[25], using it to continue studying necromancy^[26][27] and reign over the Catacombs^[28] with his servants and Necromancers who employed the area's skeletons as an army.

At a certain point the followers of occult powers, armed with shields to defend themselves from divine weapons and lightning, descended into the Catacombs and attempted to steal Nito's mortal power to use it in a plot to kill the gods^[29], but ended up failing and dying inside his dark domain^[30].

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^[31]. The Undead would thus have delved into the Catacombs until they reached the sarcophagus in which Nito rested, challenging and killed him to obtain what remained of his Lord Soul^[32].

Dark Souls II[]

At some point after the emergence of the Undead connected to the fading of the First Flame^[1] Nito took measures to deal with the beings that defied the death he oversaw. He thus created the Fenito, beings capable of weave death^[33] and with the task of watching over the dead, giving them his Darkdrift^[34]. Their philosophy is that death is equitable and accepting and everyone will, one day be welcomed by her embrace^[33]. As life is suffering or karma the embrace of death awaits everyone but for the Undead this was not possible and they would have to take care of it^[35]. He also created the Milfanito, women who had little concept of self, and taught them to sing^[36], making them enchanting singers with the task of comforting the undead, as those bound by death and darkness. They live only to sing and will continue to do so until they can do so no longer^[37][38].

After an immense amount of time since Nito's death due to a Chosen Undead, the Fenito and Milfanito continued to serve their purpose and and carrying out the will of the "Great Dead One", arriving in Drangleic where they positioned themselves to manage the Undead Crypt^[33], a place of rest for the "living" where those afflicted by the curse of Undeath could only pray to one day gain entrance^[39]. With the centuries countless dead came there to rest in peace cradled by the comfort of darkness, some where rich, other poor, some wise, some dull but the Fenito made sure they all remained just dead, employing miracles that dealt heavy damage to mindless Hollows so that they could return to being dead^[40], and pyromancies to create a gentle flame to heal and comfort the Hollows^[41]. The Fenitos thus became the Grave Wardens who were charged with watching over the Crypt and its slumbering dead^[42], making sure that they were not awoken, readily burying whoever tried to disturb their rest along with the others, making no allowance for statures or riches^[43]. Their silverblack equipment was soaked and imbued with the power of the darkness that enveloped the crypt^[44].The Milfanito also helped with their task, continuing to sing to comfort the deceased who rested in Undead Crypt^[45]. The marshlands before the Crypt also became the home of the Brightbugs, a tiny bug that produces light and is said to comfort the dead^[46]. These creatures were born from the corpse of Nito and they dance to the song of the Milfanito^[38]

The Grave Wardens thus continued to defend the crypt and making sure that the dead remained undisturbed by the influences of the outside world. A party of cleric knights would try to conquer the crypt but they failed and for their sin the wardens postponed their deaths, forcing them to serve as crypt sentries^[47] and leaving their leaders to wander aimlessly in the depths of darkness^[48]. Another party of imperious knights attempted to conquer the crypt, wielding only a shield split in halves and depicting two messengers from their hereafter who welcome the recently dead by reviewing the merits of their deeds in life^[49]. However they were defeated and turned into crypt guardians, never allowing them to rest in peace^[50].

At one point the Leydia Witches reached the Undead Crypt. They were a group adept at magic and were able to use miracles, pyromancy, sorcery and even hexes at high levels with their special staves^[51] and worshiped Galib, God of Disease^[52]. The witches were welcomed into the crypt in which they ended up residing beside the Fenito^[53], collaborating with them in their tasks and sharing their power of death^[54]. However at a certain point the Leydia Witches grew conceived and began to manipulate both the onset and curing of disease, making themselves the effective gatekeepers of the crypt^[55]. Their misuse of death^[56] and their failure to treat it with the proper respect^[57] invoked the ire of the Fenito, that branded them as transegressors^[58], blasphemous^[59] and traitors^[60] and hunted them down, denying them a peaceful death and slaughtering them most of them^[61].

An immense amount of time after his Lord Soul was used to link the First Flame, Nito's very name was lost ^[62] and in the region of Drangleic the few who still remember his existence refer to him as "Great Dead One"^[63]. However, some remnants of his soul^[64] manifested again in Drangleic, continuing to exert their influence on the region^[65].

At some point a butcher^[66] came into contact with the soul of Nito^[67] deep inside the Black Gulch. The mass of dark power^[68] transformed his body and he became a creature formed by a huge mass of hollows fused together^[69] known as the Rotten^[70]. It kept writhing deep within the Gutter, embracing all the abominations that fell deep inside the Gulch and creating a sanctuary for all things rotten or tossed away^[71]. He would keep producing the Poison Statue Clusters, artifacts that release the deadly toxin that covers the tunnels of the Black Gulch^[72].

Theories[]

• It is possible to theorize that Galib, God of Disease is the name that the Leydia Witches used to continue to venerate Nito after his name was lost over the centuries, as not only is Galib connected to "diseases" in the way in which Nito was connected to deadly miasmas^[73] but the Fenito, creatures created by the Ancient Lord^[33], welcomed the Leydia Witches into the Undead Crypt^[74] and shared the power of death with them^[75], implying that there was cultural and ideological common ground between the two to collaborate, at least initially.

Strategies[]

When falling into Nito's domain, some damage will be incurred. This can be negated through use of the Fall Control sorcery. If Fall Control is unavailable, make sure to heal once landed, preferably with Estus as the other forms might not be fast enough to avoid Nito's ranged attack.

Nito is a very large, very slow boss with average HP. This makes large weapons and slow spells excellent candidates for dealing damage to him quickly. Nito's attacks often cause toxin and can be quite damaging, but almost all of them have a very long startup time and are easily avoidable. All of the attacks except the sword dance can be blocked.

Nito is aided by some minor Skeletons initially, and Giant Skeletons if the player ventures too far from the place they fell down from. Both types of Skeletons resurrect after being killed, unless they are killed with a Divine weapon (even with a Divine weapon a Phantom can't kill the skeletons, only the Host can). They are no tougher than the Skeletons found throughout The Catacombs and the Tomb of the Giants, but may prove to be a fatal distraction to fighting Nito himself. Because Nito is so slow, it is a good idea to kill all of his minions with a Divine weapon before engaging with him, so the skeletons will not get in the way. As long as you are not close to him, the only attack you have to watch out for is his Gravelord Greatsword (listen for the scream and start running). Wearing the Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring will help in avoiding confrontation with the Giant Skeletons at the back of the cavern.

He can easily be strafed behind for free hits, resulting in large amounts of damage – especially if attacking him with fire weapons or pyromancies (as he is weak to fire).

Boss information[]

Attacks[]

Slam[]

				Attack Type	Parryable	Tracking	Speed
550	-	-	-	Physical	No	Neither	Slow

Nito slowly raises his weapon, then slams it into the ground. Difficult to block, but can be easily dodged. Also, Nito pauses for a few moments afterwards, leaving him open to attacks.

Thrust[]

				Attack Type	Parryable	Tracking	Speed
506	-	-	-	Thrust	No	Neither	Slow

Nito thrusts forward with his sword. Can be blocked or dodged.

Swing[]

				Attack Type	Parryable	Tracking	Speed
396	-	-	-	Physical	No	Neither	Slow

Nito swings his sword horizontally. Can be blocked or rolled under.

Gravelord Greatsword[]

				Attack Type	Parryable	Tracking	Speed
305	-	-	-	Physical	No	Both	Slow

Only used by Nito when the player is either far away from him, or when they are out of sight range. After a scream, Nito plunges his sword into the ground, where it emerges from underneath the player, causing toxic buildup along with decent damage. It has a similar effect to the Gravelord Sword Dance miracle.

Miasma[]

				Attack Type	Parryable	Tracking	Speed
-	528	-	-	Magic	No	AoE	Slow

After pausing to charge the attack, Nito will expel a wave of darkness in all directions, causing Magic damage and Toxic buildup.

Death Grip[]

				Attack Type	Parryable	Tracking	Speed
275	-	-	-	Regular	No	Neither	Slow

Nito's hand glows red, whilst also attempting to grab the player. If successful, it deals a great deal of damage to the player.

Defenses[]

Physical Defenses				Elemental Defenses			Resistances
317	317	317	317	238	221	317	S	S	S

These stats are sourced from FuturePress's Official Dark Souls Strategy Guide.

Drops[]

Item	Lord Soul
Drop Rate	Guaranteed

Trivia[]

• His name could be a play on the Italian word finito, meaning "ended."
  • His creations all have the same word, with either an "a" or an "e" as the second letter, in the name of their species to reference their connection to him.
• Using modifications, one can see his true form beneath his cloak, revealed to be a massive skeleton that merely wears the others as armor.
  • Doing so also reveals that his sword appears to be an extension of his arm, but why still remains unknown, though it resembles a war scythe.
  • In addition to this, his left leg is built like the hind leg of a quadruped animal (the legs of birds or the back legs of dogs being notable examples).
    • He just so happens to walk with a limp due to this.
• There is another coffin, smaller than his right next to him, but for what purpose it was placed there is not known.
• While he does have the two gravelord servant miracles given to his worshipers, he is the only Lord that has no variety of magic associated with him (Gwyn is connected to miracles, the Witch is connected to flame sorcery and pyromancy, and the Pygmy is connected to dark sorceries and hexes), or at least no specific classification.

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Music[]

Achievements/Trophies[]

References[]

Bosses

Asylum Demon • Bed of Chaos • Bell Gargoyles • Black Dragon Kalameet • Capra Demon • Ceaseless Discharge • Centipede Demon • Chaos Witch Quelaag • Crossbreed Priscilla • Dark Sun Gwyndolin • Demon Firesage • Dragon Slayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough • Four Kings • Gaping Dragon • Gravelord Nito • Great Grey Wolf Sif • Gwyn, Lord of Cinder • Iron Golem • Knight Artorias • Manus, Father of the Abyss • Moonlight Butterfly • Pinwheel • Sanctuary Guardian • Seath the Scaleless • Stray Demon • Taurus Demon