Gwyn

**Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight** also known as **Lord Gwyn** and later **Gwyn, Lord of Cinder** was the first and only King of Lordran and wielder of the Soul of Light.

## **Lore**

When the First Flame appeared, within was the Great Souls that represented all elements of the Earth. When Gwyn happened upon the First Flame he claimed the Great Soul of Light, becoming a creature with unparralelled power (aside from the other Great Souls) and the ability to control and manipulate light.

### **The War of Souls**

Following the discovery of the First Flame and the Great Souls held within, the Dragons Gods Bahamut and Tiamat are declared war upon, enthrusting the world into its First Major War that would determine the fate of humanity.

With the help of blacksmiths and master craftsman, Gwyn created an army of Silver clad Knights, whilst also establishing an elite team which in term becomes the Four Knights of Gwyn consisting of: Ornstein, Artorias, Ciaran and Gough. He also names a man called Havel, a close friend, as a general, with Havel constructing his own unit of soldiers all donning armour carved from solid rock.

Following the defection of Seath the Scaleless, a paledrake to Gwyns side, Seath discloses the secret to killing the Dragons; Destroying their Scales. Bahamut tried to make peace with Gwyn, trying to come up with a solution for them to live in the same world in peace. Tiamat however, greatly angered by this, disclosed the location of Bahamut to Gwyn and was subsequently captured. Tiamat then become the sole leader of the Dragon armies and unleashed an all out attack which proved to be a fatal mistake.

Gwyn uses his Great Soul to create magical spears of sunlight, capable of peeling the dragons scales from their body. He also created arrows made of pure lightning to be used by the Silver Knights and the rest of the Human Armies. The Gravelord Nito unleashed a miasma of death and the Witch of Izalith create great firestorms. Tiamats armies severely underestimated their foe and soon the army of Dragons was no more and Tiamat was subsequently captured. Both Tiamat and her brother Bahamut were imprisoned deep underground in seperate locations, with their location being disclosed only to King Aldricius I.

Seaths defection effectively turned the tide of the war and soon the Dragons were decimated, with some being captured and most slain and banished, marking an end to the War of Souls.

### **Creating of the Land of the Gods**

With the end of the War of Souls, Gwyn designated the territory to be claimed by those wishing to rule and settle, with him claiming a large spit of land in the center of the continent, which he comes to name Lordran.

Within the lands of Lordran, Gwyn created a capital, a city that would be fit for the Gods themselves, which would come to be named Anor Londo.

He bestowed titles among many of those that helped the war effort including those of his 4 Knights who became named accordingly: Dragonslayer Ornstein, known for the single most Dragon slayings across the War of Souls and leader of the order of Anor Londo. Hawkeye Gough was named for his affinity with Greatbows and his team of Archers. Knight Artorias, leader of the Silver Knights, the most noble and greatest swordsman of all time. Ciaran, who became the leader of an all female group of assassins called the Lords Blades.

Gwyn also made sure to keep the First Flame safe and so constructed a great building to house it and protect it, limiting its entrance to just him and a trusted few. This protective shell becomes known as the Kiln of the First Flame.

### **Lord Gwyn, The Pymies and The Dark Soul**

Gwyn was said to have been the most powerful entity in the world during the Age of Fire, but that isn't to say that he didn't fear anyone. Gwyn had an animosity towards the holder of the Dark Soul, being The Furtive Pygmy and just Humanity as a whole. He feared that if the fire faded, the holder of the Dark Soul would be more powerful than him. Considering that the Furtive Pygmy split his soul into many different creatures, the Dark Soul never lost any power and when he children, the Dark Soul was passed down through his bloodline.

In an attempt to appease the Pygmy Lords, he gifted them a city, said to be at the edge of the world, called the Ringed City. He also gifted them his youngest daughter Fillianore to help look after them. This 'gift' was little more than a ruse to ensure that the Dark Soul was effectively secured inside the Ringed City, but this still left out one major problem: The Power of Humanity.

Gwyn planned the branding of all humans, using the first flame as a magical tool to place a mark on their Dark Soul, coming to be known as the Darksign. Humans now took on a more fleeting form, with their natural Dark abilities effectively supressed, though some humans were exempt from the entire process due to Gwyns trust in them.

### **The Rule of The Lords**

Following the branding of all Humans and the securing of the Dark Soul in the Ringed City, Gwyn began to rule with power defined by that of the First Flame and came to be revered as a King and assumed the role as a Deity along with the rest of his family.

The other wielders of the Great Souls were essentially left to their own accords. Gravelord Nito, became known as the 'First of the Dead' creating a catacombs deep below Lordran and was said to be the reason as to why people can die, but also had the ability to bring those back from the dead through necromancy.

The Witch of Izalith created her own civilisation also deep below Anor Londo, where she began to study the flame and started to create pyromancy magic.

In 111FA, Gwyn also bestowed part of his soul to several other creatures including Seath, whose betrayal and knowledge was paramount to the winning of the war. He also gifted Seath his own land and archives for Seath to study and create his own sorceries. He also gave a portion of his soul to the four creatures that would become known as the Four Kings, allowing them their own Kingdom and land which would become New Londo.

### **Behold, The Flame Of Chaos**

In 178FA The Witch of Izalith during her studies of flames, using her Lord Soul she managed to create a new flame in the image of the First Flame. The flame however managed to be too powerful and in turn she and the whole of Izalith was consumed by it. The Witch transformed into the Bed of Chaos which in turn started to create new monsters called Demons. The Flame of Chaos eventually was incorporated into this new Demon society and Izalith and her children created new pyromancies with the Flame of Chaos.

Gwyn however visited Izalith to see the progress of their society and ways realised the abhorrent nature of what became of Izalith and demanded the Bed of Chaos be destroyed along with the Flame. Izalith in turn declared War on Gwyn. Gwyn marched with his Silver Knights into the depths of Izalith in an attempt to destroy the Demons and the Bed of Chaos but was actually beaten back due to the chaotic nature of the Demons and instead sealed Izalith and her 'children' deep underground, never to come above ground again. Gwyn also took and enslaved certain demons to become servants of the Gods and also in an attempt to show what happens to those who oppose the gods. The Silver Knights who took part in the battle also had their armours charred black from the flames, which in turn made them appear much more imposing.

### **The Fading of The First Flame**

Gwyns fear of the Fire fading comes to fruition as it becomes clear to him that First Flame starts to fade away after hundreds of years from its first appearance. As the flame weakened, the brand of Fire around the Dark Soul also began to fade, but there was an effect that Gwyn had not intended when the branding took place. As the Darksign faded, it began to consume the soul from within the person when they died and then reanimate the person, hollowing them slightly as it takes their humanity and memories, creating the first of the Undead. The more time the person dies, the more they become hollowed until they become a husk of what they once were, unless they are able to claim souls and humanity from others and satiate the Darksign and to reverse the hollowing process.

Gwyn begins to seperate his Great Soul and gift it to his family and tasks them and the Primordial Serpent Frampt with gathering and shepherding all the Undead into newly constructed asylums dotted across the continent. He is informed by Frampt that he will need to use himself as kindling to reignite the First Flame and usher in another Age, in which the Linking of the Fire is a constant process to prevent the world from turning to darkness. Roderick I also tells Gwyn of a prophecy of that a single Chosen Undead will follow in his place one day, from one of his Asylums, to create even more reason to shepherd these undead.

Gwyn with only the power of his regular soul, journeys to the Kiln of the First Flame with his now Black Knights where he then linked the First Flame, becoming the first Lord of Cinder but being consumed by it and becoming a hollowed husk. His Knights also perished in the inferno that was created upon the linking, with many of them becoming spirits wandering the plains around the Kiln.

## **Family**

Gwyns family was effectively of deific status from the moment he claimed the Great Soul. Early on in the War of Souls, Gwyn married the creature Velka, a mysterious woman with unnatural abilities. It was rumoured that Velka was created by the Primordial Dragon Tiamat, though this rumour was effectively unfounded, it did not change the fact that Velka was thrust into Goddess status by Gwyn and their followers due to her power. Gwyn had multiple children throughout his life.

### **The Nameless King**

Gwyns firstborn son was a great warrior, with nearly the strength of Gwyns Lord Soul. History does not favour Gwyns Firstborn, as after the death of Gwyn and becoming King, he allied himself to the Dragons as he believed he had a natural affinity towards them, often attributing to the rumour of Velkas heritage. The other Gods of Anor Londo banished him and erased his name from all memory, destroying all statues and knowledge of him, to where he became Nameless. He later on founded a haven, a safe location for the dragons the live, with his mount and good friend The King of The Storms by his side. This place came to be known as Archdragon Peak.

### **The Princess of Sunlight**

Gwyns second child was Gwynevere, named the Princess of Sunlight, she became heir to the throne of Lordran following the banishment of Gwyns firstborn. Following the death of Gwyn and the banishment of Gwyns first born, Gwynevere did not name herself as Queen of Lordran but instead kept her title of Princess of Sunlight, that was until she and many of the deities departed from Anor Londo (this was after Lord Gwyn, her father, sacrificed himself in the First Flame) with her husband and God, the Flame God Flann.

### **The Goddess of The Pygmies**

Gwyns last daughter was that of Fillianore, who was gifted to the Pygmy Lords following the War of Souls, for her to rule over the Ringed City, that he also gifted to them. It was said that she was given to the Ringed City to protect it and so fell into a deep slumber in order for it to be preserved, whilst using her natural magic to provide the protection for the Pygmy Lords, following Gwyns branding of all humanity (aside from the Pygmy Lords and the Catarinians). During her slumber she was revered as a Goddess by the Pygmies.

### **The Dark Sun**

Under a full moon, Gwyn had a third child with Velka, being that of Gwyndolin, who would become known as the Dark Sun Gwyndolin and shared qualities and powers of the moon, but was a very sickly child and realised he was not fit for ruling and so Gwnevere stayed as the heir to the throne. Following Gwyneveres and all the Gods departure from Anor Londo, Gwyndolin created an illusion of Gwynevere to rule the City (under the guidance from Kingseeker Frampt) as he still believed he was not fit for the throne. This illusion not only made it believable that a child of Gwyn was on the throne, but was also used to convince the future Chosen Undead to link the fire. Eventually, after a thousand years, Gwyndolin was consumed by Aldrich, whilst he was imprisoned in the Mausoleum of his father by Sulyvahn.