Anor Londo: The Darkest Place in Dark Souls III

The Player is keenly aware something is not right when entering Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. While other areas have had watchdogs and gatekeepers barring entry prior (Vordt and the minor Outrider Knight, Iudex Gundyr, Wolnir), this was the only one with an actual barrier. The Small Doll and conquering/ running away from the Sulyvahn Beast are necessary to enter Irithyll. Someone doesn’t wantyou coming in and discovering whatever it is they have. And soon we learn why. This isn’t just Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. It’s Anor Londo, the City of Gods. And it’s been overrun with malice.

The change in color isn’t too drastic if the Player in Dark Souls destroys the illusion of Gwynevere. Anor Londo becomes moonlit and consumed by some new enemies, but the overall look of the place hasn’t changed. It’s just that the ultimate presence of the Gods, minus Gwyndolin, is missing. In Dark Souls III, Anor Londo is near unrecognizable until you reach the main Cathedral that once housed Ornstein and Smough and, of course, Gwynevere. Or, you know, the Darkmoon Chamber. Kind of didn’t put that one together for a while.

This version of Anor Londo shows how truly awful the world has become, too, as Aldrich and Pontiff Sulyvahn have had their way. It also goes to show how vile Aldrich is compared to the Pontiff. Yes, Pontiff Sulyvahn no doubt did things that are on par with Aldrich in terms of malice, but he kept it clean. Aldrich makes a mess of Anor Londo while he’s there. The main hallway before the boss room is disgusting, and he brings one of those freaky spider monsters with him from the Cathedral.

I think the symbolism of it all speaks louder than the striking visuals. Anor Londo was once a splendor to behold. Even if you took away that sunlight and then eliminated the final God, Gwyndolin, you still knew that Gods had once inhabited this area. You wouldn’t know that coming here if you’ve never played Dark Souls. In fact, what it looks like more is the big, grand Cathedral that dwarfs the one we see near Farron Keep. It looks like the real home of Aldrich, rather than the one he usurped. Anor Londo has fallen to this wretched monster. The most beautiful part of the original game has been consumed and turned pretty gross.

There’s a great sense of fallen grace written all over Anor Londo. And I’m talking specifically about Anor Londo, which is basically everything after the Player defeats Pontiff Sulyvahn. One could make the argument that technically Anor Londo is everything they can see of the city below. Really, I prefer to consider the entire place Irithyll, but that’s another discussion. Specifically, the Anor Londo parts from Dark Souls just feel downtrodden and defeated. But everything is also more difficult, as if Aldrich has given them a renewed power in his name.

The Silver Knights, possibly illusions or possibly new souls conjured by the Pontiff/ Aldrich, are incredibly strong and have practically multiplied in number outside the Cathedral. This is no doubt to make up for the fact that the Player cannot entire the rooms and hallways within the actual building, like in the first game, but being so high up and having to dodge their greatarrows and heavy sword swings is challenging. It shows the true challenge that awaits anyone who should take on this new version of the City of Gods.

It’s also telling that this is where the Player ultimately succumbs to the Dark should they choose this quest-line. This is the infamous “wedding” with Anri, if the Player has been able to fulfill all the requirements (i.e. get Dark Sigils, let Yoel die, listen to Yuria, kill the Chameleon, and don’t tell Anri about Horace). The narrative that the Player has been on becomes so clear here as they drive the sword through Anri.

One thing that a lot of people have noticed over the near-year that the game has been out is how similar this process is to creating a bonfire, a mechanic that was rumored to be part of the game. Instead of creating a bonfire, though, you’re plunging the sword through Anri and ostensibly absorbing him/ her Dark Sigils. What’s most interesting is the blame flames that seem to lick up your arms and let you absorb the power.

It’s the darkest moment in the entire game, outside of the ending where you usurp the Flame, because this is Anri. Besides Siegward, this is the closest thing to a friend that the Player has had throughout the entire game. It almost feels like some sort of bond was forged after climbing through the Cathedral. No, it wasn’t done together, but there is a sense of, “Aldirch wasn’t there? Darn. We’ll get him next time, though!” And when you “marry” him/ her, or basically just take her powers to combine with your Dark Sigil, you basically cement yourself as committed to the Dark. The narrative now becomes clear: you’re not defeating the remaining Lords of Cinder to claim their power to link the Fire…you’re doing it because they’re in the way of you putting it out and ushering in the Age of Dark.

Thus, it’s fitting that all of this happens in Anor Londo. It’s completely ironic, and the complete reversal of Dark Souls. In the first game, you slay Ornstein and Smough and then discover Gwynevere, who bestows upon the Player the Lordvessel, the means by which to link the Fire. In Dark Souls III, you slay Anri and absorb the Dark Sigil, the means by which to destroy the Fire. In the home of the Gods, in the very home of Gwyn, you now have the ability to crush the very thing he held dear. Not to mention, as some Reddit users have pointed out, that the Darkmoon Chamber you’re in, the one that Gwyndolin defended against so desperately, is meant to serve as Gywn’s tomb. You ascend to Lord of Hollows on Gwyn’s tomb! That’s so poetic, and it’s just the thing that you never thought Dark Souls could pull off so masterfully.

But, should you not take this path, there is still plenty of blasphemy to go around. The source of it all is Aldrich, the Devourer of Gods, who, according to item descriptions, slowly absorbed Gwyndolin overtime. Slowly absorbed? It implies that Gwyndolin, a Godling, was essentially powerless to stop any of this from happening. Apparently, too, as some noticed on Reddit, Gwyndolin isn’t fully dead. Audio clips exist of grunts and groans during the fight against Aldrich, meaning whatever damage is done to the Devourer is also done to the Darkmoon. That’s pretty hardcore.

What’s curious to me is when exactly Pontiff and Aldrich decided they would hit Anor Londo. Aldrich, as we know, is a Devourer of Gods. That we know of, he’s only absorbed Gwyndolin. His appearance and some weapons he uses implies he also absorbed Nito, but that doesn’t match up with what we know has to have happened. Gwyndolin was an optional boss in Dark Souls, meaning it’s entirely possible the Player never got around to killing him and left him open for absorbtion by Aldrich. Nito was certainly not optional; he had a Lord Soul and was slain by the Player in Dark Souls. So, Nito couldn’t have been absorbed.

We also know Gwynevere probably made it out of Anor Londo just fine, too, based off the item description of the Sun Princess Ring and the various tidbits that point to her being the Queen of Lothric (like how the Hidden Blessing is literally the same item description as the one from Dark Souls but you just swap out “Gwynevere” and “Queen of Lothric”).

It’s possible that Priscilla was absorbed by Aldrich? This is a huge stretch, though. Given how we don’t know how much time has passed between the events of Dark Souls and Dark Souls III, all the implied events we know regarding Priscilla (her giving birth to the Painter in Ashes of Ariandel, her marrying the Pyromancer above her tower in Ashes of Ariandel, her relationship to Yorshka and Gwyndolin), it’s possibly that Aldrich absorbed not just her but the Painted World of Ariamis as a whole. Priscilla, as has also been rumored, may be the offspring of the Nameless King and some female dragon (if we’re to believe Gods reproduce in the same sexual manner as humans), so that would technically make her a Godling. Plus, it would explain how some of the beings of the Painted World escaped. Corvians are known mostly for being in the Painted World and yet they roam free in the Road of Sacrifices as well as the Untended Graves, as the ones we see stand guard over the Ashen Estus Ring from Queen Lothric.

But whatever happened, it’s clear that Pontiff Sulyvahn and Aldrich’s desires were clear: eradicate Anor Londo and make it their true temple. Sulyvahn was probably all in it for the power, given his past, and it’s confirmed that Aldrich grew tired of eating men and decided to devour Gods. The land of Gods was taken over by people who either ate Gods or probably hated the Gods and that’s where the Player comes in. The triple-side-story of Dark Souls III also plays in quite well here: you either go on a vengeance quest to free Anor Londo from the clutches of the Aldrich faithful, kill the two bosses there to take their power for taking the Fire, or shred through them as you ascend to becoming Lord of Hollows and leave nothing in your wake. It’s Dark Souls so you can pick your own path!

Sure there are other areas in the game that seem “darker.” The Catacombs of Carthus or the Demon Ruins spring to mind for me, and maybe the Cathedral of the Deep. But it’s the somber appearance of Anor Londo that sells it as the darkest area of the game for me. It lacks any true soul because such power has been robbed by heretics. Dark Souls III has major themes of the past being manipulated by those in the present. The old ways, the ways once seen as good and pure, have been twisted and manipulated by those who have gained the power of the Gods.

Much of this, and the plot of Dark Souls III, it seems, is because of Pontiff Sulyvahn, a man who deserves his own discussion post. He brings disparity to Lothric, sucking all hope out of a land once full of it. The conquering and ultimate fall of Anor Londo shows the world truly at the edge of the knife. Forget about the bleeding skies of Lothric or the fallen kingdom in the Profaned Capital. Those are, for the most part, internal incidents. The fall of Anor Londo affects the entire land, leaking out into the Undead Settlement and Farron Keep. The world is beyond saving, the Player just has to choose how they want to end it.