#drangleic

Aslatiel would Brush Lucatiel's Hair when they are Not Dueling again...

•My soul is frail and pallid.

•I will not go into Drangleic Castle.

•My PS3 is not going to die because it has to render The Gutter in real time.

•I can deal with poison.

Map for an upcoming D&D campaign I'm making, based roughly on Drangleic from Dark Souls 2

Need a Christmas present? Commission a map! It's too late to ensure finishing by Christmas Day, but I will do everything I can to finish as fast as possible!

I really need the commission work, I have bills to pay, younger brothers to get presents for, and I do still need to eat.

DM me here!

Perhaps you've seen it, maybe in a dream. A murky, forgotten land. A place where souls may mend your ailing mind. Long ago, in a walled off land, far to the north, a great king built a great kingdom. I believe they called it Drangleic. Perhaps you're familiar. No, how could you be. But one day, you will stand before its decrepit gate. Without really knowing why... Like a moth drawn to a flame.

Dark Souls 2 is a very cryptic game: possibly even more so than the other entries in the series, which aren't known for being particularly transparent with their lore either. One of the game's many mysteries (which is never really elaborated on) is: where, exactly, is the kingdom of Drangleic located compared to Lordran?

There's a certain strangeness to Drangleic, certain parallels that seemingly ties it to Lordran. The most obvious is the 4 Lords that inhabit it, possessing the 4 Lord Souls from the first game: the Old Iron King, the Lost Sinner, the Rotten and the Duke's Dear Freja possess the Souls of Gwyn, the Witch of Izalith, Nito and Seath respectively. How did they end up here?

But there's more. When Manus died, its essence was split into four parts. These parts all ended up here, as the four queens that corrupted (willingly or unwillingly) the four monarchs that resided here. And again: the Chaos Flame, born from the Witch of Izalith turned Bed of Chaos, was found under the frozen City of Eleum Loyce. And again: the Chasm of the Abyss is accessible from Drangleic, and is seemingly inhabited by NPCs you previously faced in Dark Souls 1. What is going on?

One interpretation I have seen is that Drangleic is none other than future Lordran, a kingdom that fell and rose again a countless amount of times, until the memory of old vanished, leaving only the ruins. It would fit with the themes of the game, but I personally do not believe it to be the case. The reasons are multiple: for example, I find it hard to believe that the entirety of Anor Londo would just disappear without a trace. But the reason, mostly, is Dark Souls 3.

Even if there is clearly a preference for the first installment of the series, Dark Souls 3 makes a pletora of references do 2 that clearly identify Drangleic as a foreign land.

Armour of the Drang Knights, proclaimed descendents of the land known for the legend of the Linking of the Fire.

Admittedly, I'm unsure why Drangleic and not Lordran would be the land known for the Linking of the Fire, but perhaps it has something to do with the Throne of Want (seemingly adapted in the Thrones of the Lords of Cinders) and the breaking of the curse for the (former) Bearer of the Curse. In addition, in the Ringed City DLC, we come across an area that, while very different, is identified as the Earthern Peak, presumably converging towards Lothric Castle as a result of the infinite cycle of the world, as stated by Ludleth. Also there's the fact that, you know, Anor Londo and Gwyndolin are still there as you left them in Dark Souls 1 despite not appearing in Drangleic, which would make little sense as Dark Souls 3 takes place after 2. Time fuckery? Perhaps, but I'm unconvinced.

So, what in the hell is going on here? Let's look at some other things we know about Drangleic. First off, it is a place intimately connected to the curse of undeath and the endless cycle of fire and dark. While in Lordran most people were attempting to link the flame, the travellers to Drangleic are here to find an escape from the curse for themselves. Some have even come close to succeeding, like Aldia. In addition, the Kingdom seem to have been funded relatively recently by people coming from outside.

Let's also look at the place you cross to enter Drangleic. A location known as "Things Betwixt". A place between places, a gateway. Judging by the opening narration and cinematic, you were looking for something and somehow ended up there without really knowing why. The same is true for everyone else there. And, seemingly, you can't leave this land without fulfilling your objective.

Bearer of the curse… Seek souls. Larger, more powerful souls. Seek the King, that is the only way. Lest this land swallow you whole… As it has so many others.

So here is my headcanon. Drangleic is a purgatory for those who are seeking something. A purgatory for wandering souls, left without a body and looking for a way to reincarnate: after eons of being lost, eventually both the Lord Souls and the Shards of Manus found their way here, as many other souls of enemies you killed have done. And it is also a purgatory for undead seeking answers: Lordran might be the epicenter of the curse, but Drangleic is the final destination for those who are desperately yearning to rid themselves of it (provided they do not go Hollow first, of course). One has to look for it to find it: and once they do, in time, they may find themselves here.

But the answer, of course, is that there is no answer. Drangleic might be the key to ridding oneself of the undead curse: but it is also the key to understanding that the real curse, the First Sin, cannot be escaped. One goes to Drangleic in the hope to find a purgatory, and at the end of it, redemption. Very few exit Drangleic, and those who do exit become aware that the entire world is a purgatory, and that there is no redemption. Linking the Flame, snuffing the Flame: it matters not. And yet.

There is no path. Beyond the scope of light, beyond the reach of Dark... What could possibly await us? And yet, we seek it, insatiably... Such is our fate.