What Were You Called in Dark Souls 2?
Throughout the Dark Souls series, the term "Undead" is prominent, signifying a class of beings cursed to walk among the living and the dead simultaneously. The Undead are immortal yet doomed to fade away over time due to their unnatural state. In each installment of the series, the player adopts the role of the Undead, embarking on a perilous journey to uncover secrets and save the world from various affronts. In this respect, the term "Undead" may be applied to the player character without exception.
However, upon closer examination, it becomes increasingly evident that each Dark Souls installation offers subtle yet distinct depictions of the player’s character in tandem with their unique narratives. Taking Dark Souls 2 as case in point, we will discover that the player is not straightforwardly an Undead creature, as in the lore of the previous game, but receives a more complex designation:
The Bearer of the Curse
According to the game itself, the player is named the "Bearer of the Curse, specifically a Dark Sigil. 1 This is not simply the result of random character generation; rather, it stems directly from the curse that has been plagued these lands since the time of Thors and the Last Flicker of Flame4. In this sense, the undying aspect of the Undead ceases to be the defining factor of the player’s character; instead, their newfound role as Bearer of the Cursed becomes paramount. Within the narratives of Dark Souls 2, the Player’s character takes on characteristics of the Undead at the expense of their human identities.
Becoming… Ashen
Upon more in-depth analysis, we may venture to say that the Bearer of the Curse represents a crucial development in the series, laying the groundwork for Dark Souls 3 In the following parts of this article.**.