Part 9: - The Belltower

Today well have us a bit of a quickie, we're going back to Firelink Shrine and explore that belltower we couldn't access before.


Fire Keepers
If you scroll down to the items you'll see that all of them are related to Fire Keepers. So, what's a Fire Keeper even? There isn't too much we know, to be honest. They are women who tend to the bonfires. In the first Dark Souls specifically a Bonfire tended to by a Firekeeper actually extinguishes if the Firekeeper dies. Let's just go over hte Fire Keepers that we know of.

Dark Souls had Anastacia, who hung out in a cave behind bars in Firelink Shrine, she was mute because her tongue was cut out. Over the course of the game she can actually get killed by a different NPC and later be revived. Being revived restores her tongue reveals that she hates to speak to us because she's afraid her "impure tongue" might offend.

Then there's the Fair Lady, or Queelags sister. Some call her Quelaan, but that's just a fan name that sounds too similar to Queelana, an actual character in Dark Souls. Residing between Blighttown, The Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith, The Fair Lady is a sickly, blind, spider lady who could only speak in her own tongue, which the player can understand by equipping the Old Witch's Ring. She tells us that she is deathly sick because she sucked the poison out of a man. That man happens to be nearby (supposedly he's responsible for ruining Blightown). Her Sister, Quelaag, is a more healthy spider lady who made it her mission to collect humanity to ease the suffering of her sister.

The last knwon Fire Keeper of Dark Souls is Lady of the Darkling who is found in Anor Londo. Whe is a Darkmoon Blade loyal to Gwyndolyn. Her entire body is hidden under brass armor which she wears because she's ugly as fuck. To her words at least. If you clip through her helm somehow or change her equipment by tinkering with files it turns out she actually has a normal face. Anyway, she is so loyal to the Darkmoon Blades because Gwyndolyn welcomed her with open arms despite her exterior.

In Dark Souls II there's only one active Firekeeper: the Emerald Herald, Shanalotte. Opposed to the other Fire Keepers we know from the first game she seems dedicated to guide the Chosen Undead, welcoming them as "the new monarch" basically out of the blue as soon as you talk to her for the first time. She is an artificial person created by Aldia, more specifically, she's supposed to be a Dragon, who Aldia believed to be the key to overcoming the undead curse.

There are three more firekeepers in Dark Souls II but they are all retired. The three old women from the start of the game. Well, there's a fourth but she only shows up in the intro cinematic (presumably). These retired Firekeepers all look very similar to the Shrine Handmaid in Dark Souls III. The three old ones help the player character find their identity by uh... allowing them to create a character. They also tell the player that they will die a lot und lose their souls because Dark Souls II sure is HARDDDDD lol.

In Dark Souls III there is only one Fire Keeper that we meet, she's the level-up lady in Firelink Shrine and she happens to blind, which is now apparently true for all Fire Keepers. In this very episode we also find a corpse of a fire keeper on top of the belltower. We then find a couple more corpses on the ground floor of said belltower. I didn't consider this when recording commentary but much like Shanalotte from Dark Souls II they may be artificially created, much like her. They could be a copy of that one we loot the Fire Keeper Soul from. Seeing as we can find so many dead ones in one spot and they seem to be taken to the trash like once they are no longer needed this may be the case. But this is just me theorizing without any research. But it is a possibility that they've been using the same Fire Keeper over and over every time the fire faded to help the Chosen Undead of the time and now the Unkindled. I could, however, be completely wrong with all of that.

In any case, if These Firekeepers are not born by natural means then Aldia probably is not responsible for it as he was against linking the Bonfire. Then again, there may be things we've yet to learn.

But I think I went a little too far with my theorizing. Let's move on to the item descriptions.




Firekeeper Soul
Dark Souls III:
Soul of a Fire Keeper who is said to have returned from the Abyss.
This Fire Keeper preserves the bonfire, and serves its champion. She is said to have soothed and accepted the dark sigil, which has tainted her soul.
And yet, her soul will one day embed itself in the bosom another Fire Keeper.

Dark Souls (Regular):
Soul of a long-lost Fire Keeper.
Each Fire Keeper is a corporeal manifestation of her bonfire, and a draw for the humanity which is offered to her. Her soul is gnawed by infinite humanity, and can boost the power of precious Estus Flasks. Reinforced Estus Flasks capture denser Estus, allowing for increased restoration of HP.

Dark Souls (Anastacia of Astora):
Soul of the Ash Maiden, Fire Keeper of Firelink Shrine.
A Fire Keeper's soul is a draw for humanity, and held within their bosoms, below just a thin layer of skin, are swarms of humanity that writhe and squirm.
Was the Ash Maiden locked in this dark prison for some transgression, or by her own will?

Dark Souls (The Fair Lady):
Soul of a Daughter of Chaos, Fire Keeper of Quelaag's Domain.
A Fire Keeper's soul is a draw for humanity, and held within their bosoms, below just a thin layer of skin, are swarms of humanity that writhe and squirm.
To her, the countless eggs which appeared were cradles for each tiny humanity.

Dark Souls (Lady of the Darkling):
Soul of the Darkmoon Knightess, Fire Keeper of Anor Londo.
A Fire Keeper's soul is a draw for humanity, and held within their bosoms, below just a thin layer of skin, are swarms of humanity that writhe and squirm.
Her brass armor serves to disguise this ghastly form.


Fire Keeper Robes
Robe worn by the guardian of the shrine.
The Fire Keepers were robbed of light, to better serve as vessels for souls. Only those who cherish the writhing, searing darkness were given the keeper's black attire.

Estus Ring
A green ring crafted from shards. Increases HP restored by Estus Flask.
This ring was entrusted to a certain Fire Keeper, but in the end she never met her champion, and the ensuing tragic farce became a favorite tale of the masses.