A look back at Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City [Dark Souls 3 Lore]

[@SinclairLore]

► Hope you enjoyed the podcast! Check out our Vampire the Masquerade campaign :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX_IoJeeiKmNpNE ► Please don't forget to 🌠Like and Subscribe🌠it really helps us out

[@parabyss]

I’m so glad that Sophie “I’m on record saying I never want to talk about the ringed city again” Pilbeam and Sin are back with another Dark Souls podcast.

[@pingas469]

I like how the rocky ring structure surrounding the titular city is incomplete, like a segment of it has broken off. It pairs nicely with the leaked Elden Ring concept art map, where the different regions of the Lands Between almost form a ring

[@calebashcraft]

Like I said in discord, my favorite podcast was the one you did on Oedon with Redgrave and Aegon. A remaster of that podcast would make me so happy

[@SinclairLore]

Thanks! We're remastering the worst ones for now. Was that one okay?

[@joshk494]

I understand Sophie's frustration/confusion with the way the DS3 DLCs make it seem like Dark Souls was supposed to be all about paint the whole time when it wasn't ever suggested prior. But for me it's not so out there when there are so many metaphors about the creative process, and these games are generally so aware of their nature as a work of imagination that reflect their makers. The original painted world was full of the ideas that lost their place in the main story that they just couldn't let go of. Hawkshaw made an interesting video recently, which I enjoyed, proposing that Solaire is meant go be Miyazaki inserting himself into Dark Souls, with all of his hopes and doubts as a game designer, and his desire for people to come together and enjoy his work. Even the questions of what it means to inherit the fire and become a monarch prevalent throughout are, to me, about the struggle of creative control. So maybe the end of the whole series being reduced to getting pigment for a painting isn't so satisfying. But I don't think it comes out of nowhere in the grand scheme

[@denniscarr9234]

Great thoughts. You could also see it as being similar to the 'third way' from Scholar of the First Sin. A way to escape the cycle by creating a new world and starting over. It's tiny, but it feels like the one glimpse of hope that all of the eons of repeating the same mistake over and over might have have created something useful, even if inadvertently. Either way, it doesn't feel thematically at odds with anything else in the game. I love it.

[@filippofranceschini6348]

I'm not sure I agree with Sophie about the contrast between the consistency of themes and aesthetics of the base game compared to those of ashes of ariandel. I think that the base game nails the feeling of inevitability of the end. The deep, the next step of the abyss, humanity that finally is able to start to manifest itself through the same darkness which had been confined until that moment. The way of the white and religion that bend their customs in favor of these changes, the entire cult of aldrich gaining power and him devouring the last major god of gwyn's pantheon. People tending to the sky in hope of reaching the next step of humankind. The actual feeling of worlds colliding onto themselves and the omnipresent impression of stagnation of time deriving from the fading of the first flame. The unbearable frustration of those who keep pushing for another linking of the flame. I think that these things are handled pretty well. It's not like they could make an entire game full of rotten larvae and nothing else, anyway. I think that the point the game turns around is the end of the world and what to do with it. The option of the painting to preserve something from the old world makes perfect sense to be in a dlc. The painting is not the last step. It's something extra you can do, but what to do with the real world is far more central. I would argue that even Gael is a great choice for the final boss in this context. The guy is a slave who serves the lady back in ariandel, you are not suppose to know anything about a slave. He asks you to help him purifying Ariandel for his mistress. You do as much and prove to be worthy for the next step. So he guides you through the ringed city. He knows you are far more powerful than him so he makes sure that you can find the way to the end to stop him when he will lose control. He only cares about his quest, so he wants you to kill him to retrieve the dark soul watered down by his own blood. An unworthy unkindled and an unknown slave are the last two people at the end of world: maybe cheesy but it's still a japanese game.

[@MrBedZeppelin]

Finally making it into The Ringed City, absolutely great lore here. Well Produced Vid! Thanks Sin! Sophie's encyclopedic mind is just stunning. I have been here from EpicNameBro to Aegon of Astora and pardon the possible embarrassment, Sophie your theories are unmatched. Based on what Miyazaki gives us, I believe, you have figured out his thought process best. Logically intertwining facts, personality and knowledge, you even conjure him up in these later vids! You approach your interpretations through his eyes. It is really quite spectacular, to witness! Over the years, your theories are the closest to the actual canon, there is. If three people could interview Miyazaki, for his "Tell All Book", I would want you to be there, taking point! Thanks, for ALL the time you are/have put into his games!

[@Gohan262]

Rare comment to say that all of your podcasts always sounded good enough to me, but if it gets me more episodes of Sin and Sophie, I'm fine with you remastering them all, lol.

[@RatazanoMaldito]

Great podcast! That part about Ashes of Ariandel is so true, ds3 could've been so much more If only It had more time in the oven.

[@lrakwons9799]

Oh man I remember listening to ring city one while I was working overnights. I was so pissed listening to it but I love you guys so I had to finish it. Soooo happy you’re revisiting past stuff

[@ciretose9836]

Obviously we need to revisit Yorshka to get Sophie's take.

[@tenormartin277]

I am still waiting for a Yorshka interview.

[@lostinsalem6562]

I love that Miyazaki takes time from his busy schedule to provide us with fun facts about his game. Based.

[@sawcleaver]

god i hope lenin is in elden ring🙏

[@neilsanders2341]

Trotsky or gtfo

[@SinclairLore]

loooool

[@SinclairLore]

@Tristan haha

[@kevindangelo1091]

He's in the walking mausoleums

[@qwertyuiop42385]

You forgot the part where Odin immediately decided that he would always ride his nephew the 8 legged horse into battle after seeing him.

[@rafiazad2271]

One thing that I think elevates your content is the rewatchability. That's a reason I really do appreciate the remasters, since it might be slightly different, but it still invokes that feeling of early Sinclair Lore videos.

[@jim_hawkins_blues]

I adored this episode haha. Had a bunch of chores to do and i was laughing out loud with Aldia's thesis.

[@Ascalafo]

I love you two. Thank you so much for making these videos.

[@evergreenoaktree]

"Would you kindly watch until the very end" As if we had a choice, after that

[@evergreenoaktree]

a phony chooses, a cultist obeys

[@SinclairLore]

If you like Ashes of Ariandel, don't forget to check this out :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/gnivmmVqmp1rY5o

[@lexvenirefactum]

Tnx

[@mr_jyggalag]

Oh, we need remastered version of Loch shield podcast!

[@Arkygator]

It feels like there should be an episode on eggs.

[@klinischbrot]

"We ringed this build city for Rock'n'Roll... We ringed.. " -whistle-

[@emccoy]

Just going to write down my new Gael theory in the premier since the algorithm likes comments. The iconic Red Hood is important. See you have to die to become undead, and thus Gael had to die. And the red hood is the secret to how he died. See he was going to see his grandma, the old lady in the opening of DS2 when he came across the Wolf of Farron. Who asked him were he was going. Gael being a little slow on the uptake told the Wolf of Farron he was going to see his grandmother a retired firekeeper. Well the Wolf of Farron was looking forward to some spicy old lady so he gave Gael a short cut that as actually the long way. This is why we don't see Gael until Dark Souls 3. He was lost in the woods. So when Gael finally finds his grandma he says Grandma you are looking pretty spry if a bit furry. And the Wolf of Farron was embarrassed that Gael caught him trying out his new used outfit without getting it hemmed, so the Wolf of Farron ate Gael. But the joke as on the Wolf of Farron. For you see Gael had a sword and cut his way out. So the reason why Gael has a red hood is he is secretly little red riding hood.

[@AssailantLF]

Love you guys and I'm loving this content! ❤️

[@Bumpitybumpbump]

I think that DS's theme is the causality between stories and storytellers, and that the DS3 DLCs are using the paint metaphor to tell you what the series was about. It hasn't always been about paint specifically, but it has been about reality defined by will and imagination, and the paint metaphor is there to get one to look at the whole series metaphorically.

[@AbelMusa]

I'm glad you gave Ariandel the recognition it deserves.

[@SinclairLore]

We love it :) thanks for checking us out!

[@alexanderjebus5198]

We need a remaster of sketchy boss arenas

[@gagemcmahon9485]

The Giorgio tsoukalos impression was fuckin perfect lmfaoooo

[@walabixha1746]

Hiii, I'm glad you publish this video in KZbin because I love watching them. If you really want to remake some old videos I hope you remake the loch shield podcast and post it on KZbin since that video was art xd

[@yeahmemia]

I know this is a bit late but I believe that Filianore is the fire keeper of the Kiln of the First Flame. For one her tiara looks exactly like what our fire keeper wears over her eyes. Now you might say that a fire keeper has to be close to her Bonfire and well, think about where you fight the Soul of Cinder, it's in the same ruined place as the ringed city. How do you get to the Ringed City? You defeat the demon princes and go through Frampts hole. Frampt also brings you directly to the Kiln of the First Flame. Additionally in the Ringed City we find plenty of statues of the serpents. Why would Gwyn do this? So since he has the soul of light he must have power over it. In Oolacile we are told that light is essentially time. So the Kiln of the First Flame essentially controls light/time but it needs a fire keeper. Where do you hide them? In the Ringed City, where he got the people he fears to protect her and as such his cause. So when we touch the egg and break it she dies, as such the Kiln of the First Flame extinguishes and all of that time that was held 'stagnant', as Solaire says, rapidly passes and everything becomes ash, as the world had burned. Question is what is the egg? I think it is a transposing kiln, if you look inside the egg you see a black hole with a rim of crystals. It looks like the transposing kiln. The fact that it's cracked might be because of Ludleth, it is very possible that that is related to his great sin.

[@CBSiegmeyer3]

The DLC story mirrors and drives home the themes of the base game. That’s why it’s a phenomenal send off for the franchise.

[@caiooa]

Thanks a lot for the podcast. Always super fun to listen to Sin jokes and laugh, and super interesting to listen to Sophie analysis. It is super engaging. I think ds3 is strange on a fascinating way. It is very well aligned thematically with ds1 and ds2. A painted world, inhabited by half-bird people and a half-dragon girl (if you look carefully, the painter have scales and a slitted eye just like priscilla). The speech of the friendly Corvian aligns very well with DS2 cat Shalquoir: "Everything will crumble and waste away, so that something new may be born". The figurative death of the world is necessary for it's rebirth (the changing of eras, from light to dark). But at the same time, i think the apparent disconnection to the base game is because a lot of stuff got cut or changed in the last minute (relatively speaking). As pointed by Lance McDonald with datamining, Pontiff Sulyvahn was supposed to be the final boss of the game. It's pretty evident that the areas related to him (profaned capital, grand archives) had a lot of content cut or band-aided last minute. So it is just expected that his birthplace (ashes of ariandel), where we find his fears and motivation would feel super disconnected to the base game.

[@kfc21194]

It wasn't a bad one, so I don't think it necessarily needs a remaster, but the first Snack Covenant podcast I listened to was the one about Pthumerians. It was a long one that could maybe be trimmed down, but if you two wanted to do it as a 2+ hour one again I'd still gladly listen to it lol. Loving all the new content!

[@SinclairLore]

Oh yeah we remade that one as well :) we'll post it in a few weeks.

[@Mikal_humble]

Hey Sin and Sophie! Final Fantasy - Retro Gaming Podcast (Gaming in the Yeltsin Years Episode 2 with SanaDSK) was one of my favourite yeltsin years episodes, i'd love if you considered it for a remaster. thanks for the video and have a great February! :)

[@SinclairLore]

We're starting the remaster process with the worst ones at first :) would you say that one was pretty bad? (I dont remember tbh)

[@Mikal_humble]

@@SinclairLore well i suppose it wasn't that bad at all, maybe you'd be better off remastering something else, sorry!

[@SinclairLore]

@@Mikal_humble no no! ty for the suggestion :) I'd love to re-record that podcast when we have time.

[@MostBronzeChunner]

"Please buy my robot game. It's been 10 fucking years!" 😂

[@fireant353]

Why is the ringed city just small elden ring

[@nostalgicdouchebag1912]

Ah yes the Ringed City, the cursed city Sophie never wanted to talk about again but here we are

[@carlospulpongranado7609]

Sophie! Come, its time for you to get mad at DS3 again *Sigh* thank you Sin

[@gilvanneto5772]

DS3 actually had a bigger development time than any other souls game before,and even more staff working on it.

[@christmasham4312]

Hardbass in the ring city 😎

[@signorMentoOfficial]

YES

[@MonteScarf]

Can you remaster some of the translation videos with Loki? Also some of the cut content ones, because new stuff has probably been dug up

[@pabloraulpereyra4948]

❤. Someday you should explore londo and ringed city conection

[@arthurdossantos6826]

"The ringed city is a crater" could it because it's built on top of the abyss?

[@SinclairLore]

I don't think so tbh.

[@beansnrice321]

We built this city! We built this city! We built this city on a ring to contain the pygmies!

[@jolteontrainer7489]

A remaster! O: ! Hmmmm.... I would like to hear more about the insects in the ring city and what they mean.... but if not thats okay!

[@SinclairLore]

We should!

[@livicent208]

Loved this remake

[@YamishiMizuandDracus]

Sin, is there anywhere I can view the old videos from before Sophie transitioned? Things like the Bunyip or Loch Ness monster videos in particular, are they archived anywhere?

[@SinclairLore]

I think they’re on the channel :) try searching (there’s a search bar to the right, if you’re on pc) If you can’t find it, let me know

[@YamishiMizuandDracus]

@@SinclairLore I searched Bunyip and Cryptid and came up empty. Hope you've been ok Sin, sad about what happened to Corvo, and Trin and the prospectors say hi.

[@SinclairLore]

OOh okay you're actually right, I think we put it on Patreon. But here is the link to the episodes. Let me know if it works :) kzbin.info/aero/PLOIA4n5j7KcY78V17IsmSgOJPsxuw6ID7

[@getsomepeps9552]

You two should get in touch with Tune and Fairweather, they are making a book about Bloodborne and I'd love to see some of Sophie's deeeeeeeep lore in it lol

[@nucklehead718]

I just want everyone to know on 2-2-2022 at 2:00am EST the views were at 669 right before I clicked to watch 🍻.

[@TheCriiss180]

Can you remake kigare but like every kigare?

[@SinclairLore]

What where why Kegare

[@TheCriiss180]

@@SinclairLore Y E S

[@phiengley]

I wouldn't be surprised if many of the new concepts DS3 introduced and then didn't really elaborate on, will be things that will be in Elden Ring

[@Stradiwhovius963]

YES. YES! My overall opinion on The Ringed City is that it makes the most sense viewed as an attempt to redo the original ending of the game with a separate attempt to redo a bunch of ideas they thought they could do better. But that ending was, IMO, worth redoing. Like I can easily imagine a version of Dark Souls 3 where The Dreg Heap in a similar form to what it was in the DLC was the last level.

[@sophie.m.pilbeam]

Surely the previous one was egg-splained?

[@barbarosaa87]

Sophie, you coward! Tell us the story of Mare Hiddleston! xD

[@SinclairLore]

lmao

[@alexanderchernyavskiy5011]

This podcast makes me happier than should be considered healthy

[@SinclairLore]

[@heltimor]

Finally having a bit of time to listen to your stuff again, brilliant work as always. Love it that even as a toddler, Sin gives attitude to everyone (‘da fuk is that Ленин?’).😛Bit of an insult ofc, daring to remaster ‘the classics’, but here we are. Sin, apart from being a person, are you perhaps commercially available as a doll, toy or…something? Our little daughter absolutely loves mc Sin in the notes, and now wants a ‘Sin doll’ with the baseball cap, sunglasses and all. 😊💛

[@SinclairLore]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@SinclairLore]

And your daughter is too cute!

[@waltersullivan2727]

Well I understand your gripes with some aspects of the story. I thought the base game did a pretty good job conveying. The state of the worlds decay once you look at the series as a whole more. How things must come to an end. Playing all the games in order like I did recently you notice a huge tone shift in DS3. In DS1 and DS2 the worlds almost like a land of fairytales sometimes. Some very vibrant and lush locations with enemies like the moonlight butterfly, mushroom people, and Dragon Aerie holding strong. In DS3 all the enemies are either corrupted by the Abyss or rotted away more than ever before. Look at the Cathedral of The Deep a Way of White church originally. Look at the graves on the outside, grub rotted corpses, reanimated corpses, and inside the cathedral it feels very murky. Places you knew like Lost Izalith and Anor Londo are former shells of themselves now taken over. You don’t get these beautiful enemy types anymore only beasts, twig butterflies, and shit throwing ghrus. In the first game linking the fire was seen as a righteous task. Now even normal people like Hawkwood are like damn Lordship sucks. Ludleth has nightmares about it, Abyss Watchers brought back into an endless cycle of battle, it didn’t save Yhorm’s kingdom, Aldrich wasn’t done out of virtue, and the princes were brought into this world and cursed as sacrifice. There’s a reason almost none of them wanted to sit on their thrones. Then the DLC just solidifies all things must come to an end (which was Miyazaki’s intent to reinforce the main games ideas) especially with Friede. Then in DLC2 we see more of the Dreg Heap and it’s like damn... what’s worth saving here even patches is falling apart. We let nature take its course and find a way to break from the cycle in the meantime. Reminds me of that last phrase from Aldia... “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.” In a sense the world was not beyond the reach of dark letting the flame die out. Yet we sought something beyond that in the painting.

[@ShadaOfAllThings]

Who built the various cities for the Lords? The answer is their Giant slaves, and probably many, many human slaves too

[@rrrrrrrachel]

WEREWOLF LAWYER WEREWOLF LAWYER WEREWOLF LAWYER WEREWOLF LAWYER WEREWOLF LAWYER WEREWOLF LAWYER

[@EdenHellCipher]

Norse mythology nerd that I am, as soon as Sin said “I know! I’ve been listening to a lot of mythology podcasts…” I was like, I know where this is going… Pansexual Loki Horsebaby. One of my favorite stories, because whoever wrote the Norse myths gives zero fucks. My other favorite: Thor dresses up like Freyja to marry a giant and get his hammer back. Edit after finishing episode: I snort-laughed at this one. I give the episode 11 out of 10 Yorshkas.

[@SinclairLore]

lol

[@philipearakaki]

I think Pansexual don't quite cut it.

[@justincurll1110]

Disagree. The main game is amazing and communicates the state of entropy very well.

[@waltersullivan2727]

I thought so too how Lordship was seen as something righteous in the first game. Fast forward to DS3 you find out how painful it is then how Lordship is a cursed and or unforgiving path. The worlds in a worse state of decay than ever and places you were familiar with are in shambles. Even normal people like Hawkwood are starting to see how bs it all is. Then the DLC just solidifies all things must come to an end especially with Friede. Then in DLC2 we see more of the Dreg Heap and it’s like damn... what’s worth saving. Then we let nature take its course and find a way to break from the cycle in the meantime. Reminds me of that last phrase from Aldia... “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.”

[@kevindangelo1091]

More sleazy Miyazaki please

[@birddale5523]

Don't remaster any of them!

[@SinclairLore]

Aw so sweet!

[@bobwitz1]

Are there really kids in Russia? Or just small adults. That's how I imagine it, anyway.

[@SinclairLore]

Lol

[@aquelesousa]

What I can say about these DLCs is that... i tried. I really tried my best and hard to love these DLCs but they are so fucking stupidly bad made that I just didn't care anymore. So anyone who tries to argue with me trying to defend them, I'll always be like: "You're right, they're great. I'm so happy for you. I am GENUINELY happy for you, because i wanted to fucking kill myself of how much disgust i had by the time i finished."

[@MeUngaBungaButYouAreWorst]

There is only one place in all of the soulsborne series that i love as much as Anor Londo. That place is the ringed city ! I got to say then Leyndell as striked my Hearth as well, As an italian i appreciate the love that Miazaky as for Roma and Milano. Even if Leyndell give me more Constantinopoli vibe's !