Dark Souls III

Ashen Scriptures

The Lore of Lothric & The Defiant Thrones

A record of fire, ash, and the resurrected Lords who refused to burn a second time.

The Five Monumental Thrones

Chronicle of the Runaway Lords

THRONE INSCRIPTION // FARRON'S UNDEAD LEGION

The Blood of the Old Wolf

Sworn to Knight Artorias's legacy, the Undead Legion partook of wolf's blood to share a single soul and bury any kingdom showing signs of the Abyss. Upon awakening from their grave, they discovered the Abyss had taken root within their own ranks—locking them in an eternal slaughter inside Farron Keep.

THRONE INSCRIPTION // SAINT OF THE DEEP

Devourer of Gods

Originally a cleric of the Cathedral of the Deep who developed a habit of devouring men, Aldrich bloated into a black sludge of bones androt. He was made a Lord of Cinder not for virtue, but for sheer might. Awakened by the bell, he fled to Anor Londo to consume Darkmoon Gwyndolin alive.

THRONE INSCRIPTION // LONELY RULER OF THE PROFANED CAPITAL

The Storm Ruler's Oath

Descendant of an ancient conqueror, Yhorm linked the First Flame to put an end to the Profaned Flame—only for the sky itself to rain fire down upon the citizens he wished to protect. Before his sacrifice, he gifted two Storm Ruler greatswords: one to his doubting subjects, and one to his dear friend Siegward of Catarina.

THRONE INSCRIPTION // LAST HOPE OF HIS LINE

The Twin Princes

Bred through royal eugenics to become the ultimate sacrifice for the First Flame, Prince Lothric was born frail and cursed, bound in soul to his crippled elder brother Lorian, who once slew the Demon Prince. Mentored by the First Scholar, Lothric rejected the cycle entirely and chose to watch the fire fade from his high bedchamber.

I. The Fading Flame

Across the kingdom of Lothric, the great bell tolls to signal that the First Flame is dying. As the fire fades, the curse of the Undead spreads once more. For ages, the world has been prolonged by linking the fire—a ritual in which great heroes offer their souls as kindling. Yet Prince Lothric, raised from birth to become the next sacrifice, rejected his bloodline's duty and chose to watch the flame die from afar. In desperation, the bell awakened the old Lords of Cinder from their graves, only for all but one to abandon their thrones. Amid the ruin, Sulyvahn, a sorcerer from the Painted World, declared himself Pontiff and seized Irithyll and Anor Londo.

II. Rise of the Unkindled

When even the resurrected Lords fail to answer the call, ash seeks embers. The Ashen One—an Undead who once failed to link the flame and burned to nothing—is raised to drag the defiant Lords back to Firelink Shrine. Only when the four cinders rest upon their stone seats does the Fire Keeper kneel before the hearth, opening the warp to the Dreg Heap at the end of time.

Kiln of the First Flame // Decision Matrix

Choose the Fate of the World

I. To Link the First Flame

You offer your own Unkindled ash to the Kiln. The flame barely catches—no blinding explosion as in ages past, only a quiet, weak ember burning over your armor while the sun bleeds overhead.