Pontiff Sulyvahn: The Big Bad of Dark Souls III?

One of the biggest problems people have with the narrative of Dark Souls III is the consistency of its main antagonist. Aldrich? The Soul of Cinder? The Lothric bloodline?  Nah. It’s the Pontiff. The boss-fight that either made many a people proud of their progress, or made many a people throw their controller in rage.

Pontiff Sulyvahn doesn’t really come into the fold as the main villain until the Player reaches the Grand Archives. Up until that point, it’s looking more like Aldrich is the primary villain. And it’s a solid red-herring. His faithful are spotted as early as the Undead Settlement with the Evangelists, though it’s clear that they may not be entirely aligned to Aldrich. They want to “Cleanse that bastard’s curse,” implying the Undead Curse that’s still being spread a bit after the events of Dark Souls II…though why would they also align with a fellow Unkindled? Aldrich linked the Flame, though he was basically forced to, same as Gwyn. He prolonged the Undead Curse same as Gwyn, since we know that the Undead exist as long as the Age of Fire exists. If anything, they’d be more in line with the Lothric bloodline.

However, I say, that is not the case. For where there is a puppet, there is a puppet master. Aldrich devoured man until he hungered so much that the only way to satiate himself was through devouring Gods, as is in his name, but who brought him to the Gods? How did he discover these Gods? Who could have known about the only living God in Anor Londo, Gwyndolin, who was also hiding in secrecy (so secret it’s entirely possible to miss him in Dark Souls)?

Hint: it’s the same guy born in the Painted World of Ariandel that was raised to hate the Flame possibly by Friede.

Besides the promise of learning more about the Dark Soul of Man, the best thing that Ashes of Ariandel provides us is that Sulyvahn was raised in the Painted World, one where things have become rot and the ruler does not believe in Fire or Dark. Sulyvahn does not either, but does seek power. We know he steals part of the Profaned Flame, knows that he finds Aldrich, and we know that he callshimself the Pontiff when really he’s little more than a warrior.

Pontiff Sulyvahn is basically the world’s best bully. He positions Aldirch perfectly in the Cathedral but moves him when he realizes how futile putting him there is, and that there’s a perfectly quite God just sitting around in Anor Londo. He lays his Outrider Knights all around Lothric to keep the people in check and he becomes a figurehead for an organized religion that he probably doesn’t believe in. He uses everyone as pawns in his game.

He’s a classic case of main villain: manipulating the plain so that he always come out on top and we don’t learn the true extent of his goals until much later, when we’ve thankfully defeated him. If we hadn’t, it’s entirely possible that the Flame would’ve gone out without the Player either becoming the Lord of Hollows, linking the Flame, or doing whatever it is they do in that hidden fourth ending where they raise the Flame to the eclipse.

Beyond what we can confirm of the Pontiff, the implications of his goals are pretty far-reaching. Many guess that he was the scholar that shied Lothric and Lorian away from linking the Flame. Others would argue it’s Kaathe who does so, but it’s not beyond any reason to think they didn’t work together. Why not? Sulyvahn has an outgoing personality to reach his goals. It’s clear he doesn’t care who he works with to get what he wants, and that he’s strong enough to do what he wants. He has an army at his beck and call, and a powerful one at that.

The issue with Pontiff isn’t so much anything to do with him but rather his placement in the game. He’s smack in the middle, not even that important. The Player’s showdown against him is a big deal, since he’s the one that commands two other bosses in the game, and three other mini-bosses, but this could have been the Twin Princes battle in terms of scope and importance. This is the man behind the usurpation of Anor Londo, this is the man who stole the Profaned Flame, and this is the man that could have singlehandedly ended the world, if you choose to believe that line of thought. And he’s boss that’s basically your barrier of entry to the best grinding spot in the game, Anor Londo.

To be fair, I don’t think he would have been the best final boss. An early throwdown with Aldrich to free Gwyndolin in the place it is now is fine, but a big, epic final battle against Aldrich is what could have happened. Maybe he somehow merges with the flame and instead of Gwyndolin he has Gwyn as the figurehead, once again bringing us the ultimate test. Pontiff could be the main villain, but not the ultimate villain.

Still, many of the games events would not have happened had he not meddled with the world at large. His motivations aren’t the strongest, as he just seeks power for power’s sake, but his backstory is worth looking into. He was just a boy from the Painted World that managed to escape. He was wise and powerful, and made his way through Lothric/ Lordran in search of more power. He didn’t believe in the Flame but there was the Profaned Flame he could use, the very same flame he uses against you in the battle in the church. He was wise with sorceries and used the power of the Deep, like Aldrich, which is what you also come up against when you face him. This power could also be Dark, as it is with the Dancer of the Boreal Valley, but I prefer to see it as him using the power of the religion he leads.

Most interesting about Pontiff is how he just call himself the Pontiff. I believe we can assume that Pontiff left the Painted World as a boy, meaning he had to grow up fast in order to survive the treacherous and dying world around him. Since he’s just one big bully, he used his power as such to mess with the other kids on the schoolyard. He convinced the band of mercenaries from Drangleic, the Drang Knights, to work for him. He gathered a following. He practically brainwashed a member of the royal family into becoming one of his monstrous knights, too.

The Dancer’s part in the story really highlights the monstrosity that Pontiff had become. He took a beautiful young woman and transfixed her into his own molding so that she would fight and kill for him in order to keep him safe, and to protect his investments. Perhaps she’s doing this of her own volition, since she’s barring you from entry into Lothric Castle, or perhaps this fuels the theory that Sulyvahn played a part in corrupting young Prince Lothric, so he wants to protect him as the failsafe for making sure the Flame does not get linked once more.

Pontiff Sulyvahn’s place in the world of Dark Souls makes him an interesting figure. He’s full of secrecies as well as public deformations. He helped take over Irithyll and Anor Londo, helped found a religion based off of what Aldrich saw in a dream, and created an army to enforce his will. But in secret, he corrupted Aldrich, inadvertently killed Gwyndolin, stole the Profaned Flame, and possibly dissuaded the Lothric bloodline from linking the Fire. When you consider how many areas of the core game are based around these things, you begin to realize that Dark Souls III would not exist without Sulyvahn, much as how any story cannot exist without a protagonist. While the final battle of the core game is against the Soul of Cinder, it’s hard to deny that the true and most important confrontations come when you face Aldrich and his master, the Pontiff of the Deep.