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Characters / Dark Souls II The Lost Crowns Trilogy

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This page details the characters introduced in the Lost Crowns Trilogy Downloadable Content. Click here to get back to the main character index. Beware of unmarked spoilers.

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Characters introduced in Crown of the Sunken King

    Sanctum Soldier 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dlcundead.png

The soldier of the Sanctum City of Shulva, they came back as poisonous Hollows when the city sunk into the dephts. They still patrol their city and fight against all intruders.


  • Body Horror: They all look bloated and half-corroded, their flesh is swollen and pale among the gaps of the armor.
  • Carry a Big Stick: The most common variant wields a massive greathammer resembling a flanged mace. The player can find it too, but each swing will build up the user's poison gauge.
  • Elite Mook: A stronger variant met in the Dragon Sanctum costantly exude a poisonous green cloud, which can poison the player through proximity.
  • Poisonous Person: The Soldiers died by poison and their attacks can poison the Bearer of the Curse.

    Corrosive Egg Insect 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/corrosive_egg_crawlers.png

Bloated creeping bugs infesting the halls of the Sanctum City and Dragon Sanctum. They often attack from above.


  • Big Creepy-Crawlies: They are almost as big as the player due to their bulging abdomen.
  • Ceiling Cling: Many of them are hidden on the ceiling and will ambush the player if he's not careful.
  • Poisonous Person: As with many enemies in Shulva, they can poison the player and are often found around acid-filled cocoons. Occasionally, they will emit an orange corrosive cloud of gas from their bodies.

    Pagan Tree 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pagan_tree.jpg
An incredibly rare enemy found in a hidden cave within the Sanctum City. Instead of attacking you, it will emit a mist that will repair your equipment if hit by a whip.
  • Helpful Mook: The only thing it seems to do is repair your equipment.
  • The Trees Have Faces: It has two eyes.
  • Unique Enemy: There is only one in the entire game, and it's so hidden that most players won't know that it exists without being told.

    Sanctum Knight 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/15884858879_92e7ab0da7_o.jpg

Knights of Shulva who sacrificed their physical body in order to mantain an eternal vigil against Sir Yorgh and his Drakeblood Knights.


  • Achilles' Heel: They're normally invincible against normal means and only take minimum damage from weapons empowered with elemental damage. However, destroying the darkness-spewing coffins in the Sanctum will force them to become tangible again, making them vulnerable as ordinary enemies.
  • Bow and Sword in Accord: Their weapons are a set of falchions and one of crossbows.
  • Disney Villain Death: In the second area where you encounter them near the Bonfire room (the room with the spiked floors) it's possible to get rid of the ethereal Knights by manipulating them into giving their backs to the abyss near the stairs and use a greatshield to block their attacks, making them back off with each blocked blow until they'll eventually be pushed back into the abyss and fall to their doom.
  • Dual Wielding: In melee they'll show off some nice swordsmanship with twin falchions. From a distance they instead wield a repeating crossbow in one hand and a normal one in the other.
  • Elite Mooks: By far Shuva's most powerful warriors; even without their ritual magic, they are deadly foes that shouldn't be underestimated.
  • Made of Air: In their basic form, they are wraith-like and intangible, taking scratch damage from weapons dealing magic/fire/dark/lightning damage and no damage at all from physical attacks. Breaking their coffin effigies will make them physical and vulnerable as usual.
  • Master Swordsman: They brandish their twin falchions with accuracy and deadly skill, sometimes making certain attacks which are exclusive to them.
  • Sinister Scimitar: They wield dual falchions with curved tips.
  • Undying Loyalty: To the point that they sacrificed their physical bodies to defend their city.

    Sanctum Priestess 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sanctum_priestess.png

Priestess of Shulva, deformed into grotesque, immobile plant-like abominations. It is said that the priestesses sang to preserve the dragon's deep slumber, but one wonders if a single phrase of their song ever reached the dragon's ears.


  • All for Nothing: Implied in their lore description: their songs were meant to soothe Sinh and help his slumber, but nobody knows if their song actually reached the Slubmering Dragon at all.
  • Body Horror: They got it even worse than the soldiers, mutating in grotesque algae-like aberrations.
  • Casting a Shadow: They attack with dark-based spells and hexes.
  • Plant Person: Their current form is fused to the ground, making them resemble grotesque flowers.
  • Singing Voice Dissonance: They still have beautiful voices in spite of their appearence.
  • Taking You with Me: Slay one in melee and she's likely to cast one last cloud of poison to kill you during her death animation.

    The Imperfect 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/u9lfo4o.png

Misshapen dark beings lurking in an isolated cavern at the feet of the Dragon Sanctum, implied to be related to real Dragons. Despite their massive size they can be incredibly fast.


  • Amphibian Assault: They vaguely look like a giant salamander mixed with a theropod dinosaur.
  • Breath Weapon: When far enough they will charge up and fire a ball of explosive darkness.
  • Call-Back: Their appearence and ability can make them a more refined version of the infamous Bounding Demons of Lost Izalith.
  • Draconic Abomination: Imperfects are massive, lizard-like bidepal monsters with short tails, flat salamander-like heads devoid of features safe from a broad mouth filled with disturbingly human-like teeth, able to conjure mass of explosive darkness from their maws and costantly secrete a tar-like substance from their skin, covering their bodies. It's implied they're either a failed attempt to recreate Dragons or corrupted degeneration of real Dragons.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Just as you enter Shulva, if you look to your left to the bottom of the cavern you can see the Lair from above, including the Imperfects walking around.
  • In a Single Bound: They can jump pretty tall and land on the player to crush them. Sometimes, instead of running, they'll close the distance with a massive leap.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Despite their hulking size, Imperfects are very fast, being able to chase after the player at great speed, jump high in the air or make sudden leap forwards to cover more ground.
  • Roar Before Beating: The Imperfects will let out a threathening roar when they're attacked.
  • Unique Enemy: They are only encountered in a mercifully short cavern area in the Dragon Sanctum, and after opening the way past their nest you can unlock an elevator to a previous area. They can also be avoided with some luck.

    Drakeblood Knight 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drakeblood_knight.png

Followers of Sir Yorgh who believes that the blood of Dragon is sacred and can be used to trascend their mortal state. The red cloth wrapped around their black armor represents the sacred blood of dragons. The insignia chiseled upon their sword hilt symbolizes dragon's blood. To the Drakeblood Knights, fresh dragon blood was sacrosanct. They believed that by obtaining it, they could achieve a true understanding of life, transcending their own banal existence.


  • Asshole Victim: It was Sir Yorgh's attemtp to slay Sinh for his blood that caused the ruin of the Sanctum City and the poisonous apocalypse that followed.
  • Boring, but Practical: Compared to the other enemies in the area, they are just well-armored knights with a longsword and a shield, and fight appropriately.
  • Black Knight: They wear a full black armor with delicate silver engravings that you can obtain.
  • Cool Sword: They wield the Drakeblood Greatsword, a neat-looking longsword which has low stats requirements, scales better with Dexterity and deals not only physical but also magical and fire damage. It's also one of the lightest Greatswords.
  • The Dragonslayer: They besieged the Sanctum City in order to reach Sinh and collect his fresh blood by slaying him.
  • Elite Mook: Well above normal hollows; they are strong and well-disciplined, not above parrying, risposting and backstabbing if they have the chance to do so.
  • The Fundamentalist: To the point that they declared war on the Sunken King and Shulva just to get at Sinh's resting place and collect his blood.

    Elana, the Squalid Queen 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elana_squalid_queen_9291.png

"You... Forever, you shall rot."

Voiced by: Clare Corbett

A Child of Dark who rests deep within the Dragon Sanctum alongside Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon. This woman is said to have been slowly amassing souls in the anticipation of the coming day of vengeance. In her bid for said vengeance, she has slowly been absorbing the soul of Sinh.


  • The Assimilator: A German Spy revealed that the developer design notes for Sinh included a note that Elana has been feeding off of his soul, with Sinh oblivious to it.
  • Anti-Magic: Unlike the Darklurker which can be shut down by disabling its spells, Elana is immune to Profound Still.
  • Black Widow: Like Nashandra, Elana journeyed to Shulva to get close to the ruler of the underground kingdom in order to assimilate Sinh's power as her own.
  • Casting a Shadow: She's an expert hex caster, with spells ranging from Affinity to Dark Hail. She can also cast Dark Storm if you stay close to her for too long, similar to Queen Nashandra's hex explosion.
  • Evil Sorceress: It's all too clear that she follows the same modus operandi as the other Children of Dark, i.e. corrupt the very land they have established themselves in and amass power. She's also the only Child of Dark you fight as a boss in the DLC trilogy, and she's one of the most powerful magic-themed enemies in the entire game.
  • Death Cry Echo: When defeated, Elana will dissipate into specks of golden light while letting out an otherworldly screech.
  • Flunky Boss: Elana will occasionally summon 3-5note mud skeletons which can inflict both bleed and poison buildup to her aid. If you're unlucky enough, instead of skeletons, she might summon a mud version of Velstadt, the Royal Aegis himself to fight you. Then there is the rare chance that she'll summon three little pigs as something of a Brick Joke.
  • Garden Garment: Her appearance is very tree-like, in a contrast to Nashandra's corpse dress.
  • God Save Us from the Queen!: This queen is a child of Dark and wishes to enact her vengeance. The first thing she does upon taking sight of you is try to murder you.
  • High Collar of Doom: Her outfit includes a high collar... even if what that outfit is made of is unclear.
  • Humanoid Abomination: She was formed from the scattered remnants of the Abyss coalescing into a vaguely humanoid form, much like Queen Nashandra.
  • Lady of Black Magic: A queen and Child of Dark with a dress made of roots able to cast hexes, fire, as well as summon skeletons.
  • Leitmotif: "Elana, Squalid Queen".
  • Long Game: Elana's soul description makes it clear that she was bidding her time for revenge, all while watching over Sinh the Slumbering Dragon.
  • Magic Knight: A heavy emphasis on magic (i.e., hexes, pyromancies and summoning flunkies), but she's still perfectly able to bash you around with her halberd-catalyst hybrid.
  • Meaningful Name: "Squalid" means "extremely dirty" or "unpleasant", which goes in tune with her decaying motif; she looks like a degenerate foliage, she creates clones from mud, and appropriately resides in a city filled to the brink with the toxic miasma generated by Sinh.
  • Necromancer: During her fight, she will sometimes summon skeletons to distract you while she continues casting hexes.
  • Optional Boss: Because the Crown of the Sunken King DLC does not affect your main story progression, she and the subsequent bosses all qualify. Elana has the distinction of being a mandatory back-to-back Optional Boss with Sinh if you're going to retrieve the Crown itself.
  • Playing with Fire: In addition to her hexes, she can cast a small exploding orb of fire during the early stages of the fight. Multiple Flame Swathes, to be exact.
  • Poisonous Person: Other than her hexes and pyromancies, one noticeable aspect of her powers is her creation of minions through sludge, one of which is a grotesque parody of King Vendrick's right-hand, Velstadt.
  • Singing Voice Dissonance: Her singing is ethereal, but her appearance is something left to be desired...
  • Soul Fragment: According to her soul's and weapon's description, Elana is implied to possess a shard of the dissipated Abyss, and she herself is referred to as a Child of Dark. It's telling when you can draw several parallels between her boss fight and Nashandra's Final Boss battle, and moreso when you take into account that she is the queen of a city that fell into nothingness.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Aside from looking like she is made of roots instead of bones (and being considerably smaller), she is almost identical to her "sister" Nashandra.
  • Summon to Hand: In her aggroing animation, she'll conjure her halberd from a bubbling pool of mud in the ground.
  • Villain Teleportation: If she doesn't find the time to blast you off with a dark explosion, she'll simply warp away to a safe location before resuming her spellcasting.

    Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sinh_1_7655.png

A dragon who resides in the deepest reaches of the Sunken City of Shulva, Sinh is said to have slept soundly under the magnificent kingdom built by Gryth, the Sunken King. However, Sir Yorgh, who sought the blood of the dragon, invaded Shulva and pierced the Slumbering Dragon with his personal spear. Unable to contain his store of poison, Sinh unleashed it all over the city, turning it into a death town. With Sir Yorgh disappearing into the Eternal Sanctum, the dragon returned to the deepest reaches of the kingdom, and continued to sleep, being watched over by the child of Dark, Elana the Squalid Queen.


  • Achilles' Heel: Hitting Sinh in the chest area, where Yorgh's Spear is sticking out, will usually yield more damage than anywhere else, and his head lacks the corrosive properties that the rest of his body has against physical weapons.
  • A.I. Roulette: If you're unlucky, Sinh is prone to spending large amounts of the fight against him flying in the air out of reach, either bombarding the player with fire or making swooping dive bomb attacks.
  • Breath Weapon: He's able to spew large fireballs when flying around, but they're punctuated with huge clouds of toxin. He can also breathe more traditional flames if you're too close to him.
  • Flight: Unlike the Guardian Dragon, Sinh does not perch himself on a wall or anything. He'll simply take flight and zip around à la Kalameet while raining down fire on you.
  • Foil: To Kalameet from the original game. While initially they seem very similar, Sinh is in most ways Kalameet's polar opposite, from both a gameplay and lore perspective, reflecting their natures as white and black dragons.
    • While Kalameet was described as fearsome enough that Anor Londo dared not provoke him, he never is shown or stated to have attacked them. On the other hand, Sinh was worshipped and possibly even deified by Shulva, but ultimately destroyed the kingdom when his poison was unleashed.
    • While fighting Kalameet, it's dangerous to stand in front of him while he's on the ground and suicidal to stand under him while airborne on account of his AOE fire breath. In contrast, these are comparatively safer spots when fighting Sinh while using Kalameet strategies (trying to stay near his hind legs and running away when the dragon goes airborne) are practically death sentences.
  • Handicapped Badass: Yorgh's Spear has been stuck in his body since time immemorial, and Elana is said to suck off part of his soul. Doesn't stop him from being one of the most powerful beings encountered in Dark Souls II.
  • Historical Villain Upgrade: The description of the Replenishment miracle, which is said to be used by Lindelt knights (who hail from a place strongly implied to be connected to Shulva), claims that the Lindelt knights "once felled a poisonous dragon which menaced an entire nation". As this DLC reveals, this is simply not true: Sinh was an object of worship, and the knights themselves wrought destruction upon Shulva by attacking Sinh.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Yorgh's massive spear is still etched through his body, though Sinh himself shows no sign of weakening. Said spear can be obtained by trading Sinh's soul to Weaponsmith Ornifex.
  • Kung-Shui: There are countless stalagmites and rubble in his boss arena, and he'll almost always find something to destroy as soon as he lands in a dramatic fashion.
  • Last of His Kind: One of the last true dragons left.
  • Leitmotif: "Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon".
  • Lightning Bruiser: Due to his tendency to fly around the battlefield, Sinh is very fast and quickly alternates between bombarding you with toxic fireballs and plunging into the floor in hopes of nailing you. His ground game also leaves you with little room to attack him before he takes flight again.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Like Kalameet's "Calamity", his is a simple wordplay on sin.
  • Mooks Ate My Equipment: His stone-like hide erodes weapons rather quickly.
  • Optional Boss: Because Crown of the Sunken King is only accessed through Downloadable Content, he's way out of the main story, on top of being significantly harder than most endgame bosses. Defeating him ends the first DLC's questline of retrieving the Sunken King Crown.
  • Our Dragons Are Different: He's extremely similar to Black Dragon Kalameet when it comes to body structure; long neck, sleek body and wicked-looking wings. The differences are that Sinh's skin is grey and almost stone-like and he's less bulky. Then there's the massive spear sticking out from his back. If Nashandra and Shalquoir's claims are true, then Sinh is also the only true living dragon left (that is until you come along). At least until Dark Souls 3's The Ringed City came out with Midir. Until you, again, come along.
  • Poisonous Person: Sinh's poison is said to have been the cause of Shulva's downfall. In his fight proper, his fireball attacks have an added effect of creating a massive cloud of toxic.
  • Pure Is Not Good: Sinh's release of his dangerous toxin is said to purify his entire being, but this came at the cost of coating the entire Sunken City in it, soundly killing everyone and turning whoever survived into poisonous Hollows.
  • Recurring Element: Follows Kalameets role and precedes Midir as that one Dragon boss in a DLC
  • Removed Achilles' Heel: Dragons are traditionally weak against lightning in the Dark Souls lore. Sinh is weak to it as well, yet he also has a special resistance to all non-weapon attacks making only lightning-infused melee weapons effective. This makes the NPC summon Abbess Feeva nearly useless due to the latter's offensive options being limited to throwing lightning-based miracles.

    Graverobber, Varg and Cerah 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ganksquad2_520.jpg
From top to bottom: Afflicted Graverobber, Ancient Soldier Varg, and Cerah the Old Explorer. 

A trio of warriors fought in the Cave of the Dead. They are, respectively, the Afflicted Graverobber (wears the Alva Set and dual wields katanas), Ancient Soldier Varg (exact replica of Havel the Rock), and Cerah the Old Explorer (Mirrah archer).


  • Carry a Big Stick: Varg is another Havel wannabe, so it's fitting that he comes with his own Dragon Tooth to clobber you with.
  • Freudian Trio: They have very different styles which nonetheless complement each other.
    • Glass Cannon/The Superego: Cerah has the least health/defenses but can either swiftly drain your health with quick Estoc pokes or Back Stab you to rack up tremendous damage very quickly. Also, he provides ranged support, arrows shot from his greatbow not only take a chunk of your health, but knock you off your feet.
    • Jack of All Stats/The Ego: The Graverobber is very maneurable while having decent defense, and can quickly bleed you out with that dual katanas of hers.
    • Mighty Glacier/The Id: Varg moves, rolls and swings slowly but is very capable of flattening you or sending you flying, and even hitting you with a Spin Attack of his Dragon Tooth when you are behind him.
  • Immune to Flinching: All of their attacks have hyperarmor. Hell, all of their actions have hyperarmor. The only time you can avert this trope on them is when they have finished unloading their flurries of strikes.
  • Katanas Are Just Better: The Afflicted Graverobber carries around two Berserker Blades, which will build up your bleed meter extremely quickly if you're not careful.
  • Leitmotif: "Graverobber, Varg and Cerah".
  • My Rules Are Not Your Rules:
    • They can all cancel any action animation, including start-up and recovery frames.
    • Their movement is not restricted by water. This applies to all three. They can still run at full speed, perform WDR1 attacks, roll at full distance etc.
    • They all have either extremely large stamina pools, or infinite stamina.
  • Optional Boss: They are both this to the normal game and within the context of the Crown of the Sunken King DLC. You have to access a secret cavern within the Sanctum City in order to challenge them, and they are not mandatory for obtaining the Crown.
  • The Power of Friendship: A villainous example, given how they cover and complement each other. Varg will charge in if you attack Cerah, Graverobber will try to bleed or backstab you while you're focused on Varg, and Cerah will knock you off your feet with a greatarrow at worst possible moment when you are busy with other two. You'd better bring a couple of friends of your own.
  • Tin Tyrant: Again, Varg wears the very same armour as Havel the Rock, and he's big man of the trio. He's so big in fact that guard-breaking, an action normally meant to get through enemies who hide behind their shields, will actually bounce off of him.
  • Samus Is a Girl: You'd expect the person clad in full Alva armour to be a man, but the Graverobber is actually a woman since she uses the same grunts as a female Player Character when staggered or sent flying.
  • Wolf Pack Boss: They're no different from enemy players, as they can be parried and stunlocked if focused enough on. The problem is that that each of them has an unreasonably large health bar, and will relentlessly pursue you together. In other words, fight them with summons as if they're a regular PvP match with a bunch of hackers.

    Steelheart Ellie 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/15450962043_2cfe82ac01_o.jpg

A brawler available for several fights in the Lost Crown Trilogy.

  • Artificial Brilliance: Just like several DLC NPCs, Ellie will use gestures when greeting whoever summoned her.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: Runs in swinging at Elana.
  • The Load: While she's definitely not bad for an NPC summon, the fights she's available for happen to be bosses that will hardly feel her attacks and have magic attacks that tear through her otherwise insanely high physical defense. This combined with the added defenses these already difficult bosses get from her presence means it's often better to just fight alone than with her.
  • Playing with Fire: In the third DLC, she takes on Jester Thomas' role as a pyromancer and hurls Forbidden Suns and Fire Tempests at Aava, the King's Pet
  • Stone Wall: Her attacks don't deal a lot of damage, but she'll last a long time against the bosses she's summoned for. She swaps to a Squishy Wizard in Crown of the Ivory King, where she won't last long against Aava, but still launches devastating pyromancies (and in Sot FS, she seems to be a full-on Magic Knight who can take more punishment than even Glencour).

    Transcendant Edde 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edde.jpg

A dragon warrior available for the fight against Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon in the Crown of the Sunken King DLC.

  • Cool Sword: His Black Dragon Greatsword, whose description makes an explicit reference to the epic battle against Black Dragon Kalameet.
  • Draconic Humanoid: Comes with being a dragon apostle whose armour is grafted into his skin. Unlike Dragonfang Villard, he's a friendly Assist Character.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Downplayed in that the boss he's summoned against is extremely resilient to attacks, meaning his attacks don't seem to deal much damage, but Edde himself has a tremendous health pool and is quick on his feet, even when Sinh is flying around the battlefield.

    Abbess Feeva 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pu5txge.png

A cleric available for the fight against Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon in the Crown of the Sunken King DLC. She reappears at the start of the Frigid Outskirts in Crown of the Ivory King.

  • The Load: Her only mode of offense against Sinh is, admittedly, some of the best lightning-based spells in the game, all of which do much less damage than they should due to the dragon's non-weapon attacks resistance and the fact that she uses a chime that is supposed to be used for hexes. Sunlight Spear for 13 health? Blinding Bolt for 7? Never mind the fact that her presence for the fight both increases Sinh's health and decreases the damage you deal to him.
  • The Medic: One thing she has going for her: She at least attuned Caressing Prayer with which she can cure the Toxic status that Sinh loves to inflict on you. It's showcased even better in the third DLC, where her occasional Great Heals and Sacred Oaths will last you through the entire trip.
  • Shock and Awe: Does battle with a variety of high-level lightning spells, which unfortunately do a lot less damage than one would expect against a traditionally lightning-weak enemy.
  • Squishy Wizard: In the Frigid Outskirts, if an enemy so much as glances over her, she's toast, otherwise she'll unleash obscenely powerful, high-level miracles on top of being a medic and a Sacred Oath spammer.

    Rapacious Andrei 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/andrei.jpg

An adventurer who can be summoned in the Cave of the Dead for the fight against the graverobbers. Wears the same clothes as Magerold of Lanafir.

  • Sinister Scimitar: Wields the sickle-looking Shotel, which was Yurt the Silent Chief and Lautrec of Carim's signature weapon.
  • Weak, but Skilled: Andrei has the distinction of being a NPC summon who is neither a tank or a spellcaster, having mediocre health on top of a weak weapon. Instead, he relies on agility and judicious use of items, which include throwing knives, Witching Urns and Gold Pine Resins for buffing his Shotel.

    Ruined Aflis 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/caveofdeadsummon1.jpg

A sorcerer available for summoning in the Cave of the Dead. Appears to be the former archmaster of Aldia's Keep given his Dragon Acolyte robes and Dragon Sage hood. In Scholar of the First Sin, he's available as a shade against The Pursuer.

  • Early-Bird Cameo: In the Scholar of the First Sin Edition, he can be a summon much earlier than the DLC he's supposed to be in and the only DLC Summon to be outside of their respective area.
  • How the Mighty Have Fallen: Just like his name, he is the ruined archmaster Aflis of Aldia's Keep. What exactly he is doing far away from home and in a ditch presided by graverobbers is anyone's guess.
  • Light 'em Up: As soon as he is summoned, Aflis will use Cast Light, which is moderately helpful in the dimly lit tunnels of the Cave.

    Rockshield Baldyr 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rockshield_baldyr.png

A steel-clad warrior who invades on the bridge linking the Dragon Sanctum and the entrance to the Cave of the Dead.

  • Combat Pragmatist: Will throw a Lloyd talisman at you to deprive you of Estus healing.
  • Meaningful Name: His shield, a Stone Parma, is actually made of rock.
  • Secret A.I. Moves: Similarly to Vorgel the Sinner, Baldyr uses a Winged Spear but uses the Partizan's sweeping strong attacks.

Characters introduced in Crown of the Old Iron King

    Ashen Warrior 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/15884928917_6b20a5dea6_o.jpg

Hollowed warriors consumed by flames who patrol the Brume Tower, sometimes they can suddenly emerge from the ashen ground to attack.


  • Attack! Attack! Attack!: Axemen are the most aggressive variant and will often leap at you if you try to distance yourself.
  • BFS: Their axes and halberds are noticeably large and hefty compared to normal.
  • Dual Wielding: The axe-wielding ones use two humongous labrys at once. Sometimes they're even on fire.
  • Underground Monkey: You can meet variants seemingly made of ashes, which can occasionally toss a firebomb at you.

    Fume Sorcerer 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fume_sorcerer.png

After the Old Iron King sunk into the lava, scores of men were dispatched to this land to tap the replete stores of iron. But they soon lost their nerve when faced with the child of Dark, and all but the most steadfast of them became servants of the black fog.


  • Ambiguous Gender: Despite being called Fume Sorcerer's, they have a distinctly feminine build. Concept art even shows them to be female under the masks. Whether they were men turned into women or truly male is unknown.
  • Devious Daggers: They have long since fell into corruption and they use their sinister daggers both to stab you and to cast spells.
  • Dual Wielding: Fume Sorcerers use two daggers in tandem, with one of them also functioning as a catalysis for spells.
  • Flash Step: When engaged in melee they can sometimes teleport away in a cloud of cinders and attack you from behind.
  • Shock and Awe: They mostly attack with a single electrical orb, which can either deal lightning damage or, occasionally, explode in a larger electrical globe which deals continuous damage if you're too close.
  • Yellow Lightning, Blue Lightning: Their electrical attack is pale yellow mixed with black shades, underlining their corrupt nature.

    Ashen Crawler 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ashen_crawler_alpha.png

Heavyset Hollows lacking legs, they drag themselves across the ground and can pounce on intruders. They can be set aflame to increase their speed and even explode violently if hurt.


  • Action Bomb: Upon taking damage (or sometimes just by staying too close) they will raise their torso, glow orange and then explode, dealing massive fire damage to the surroundings and setting tar barrels ablaze. Sometimes, because of a bug, they will survive the explosion but remain frozen in position until attacked again.
  • Dead Weight: They are obese Hollows who can't even walk under their own power and must drag themselves across the floor. They also pack quite a punch and are very resilient.
  • Infernal Retaliation: If hit with fire-based damage they will burst into flame and become faster and more aggressive. Unfortunately, they don't lose health.
  • Unique Enemy: They are only found in the dark tower where the Scorching Iron Scepter is stored.

    Possessed Armor 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/15884916497_1fcc09f4ba_o.jpg

Suits of armor brought to fictitious life by Nadalia, they patrol the Brume Tower wielding fiery swords and massive greatbows with deadly precision and unpredictable attacks.


  • Animated Armor: This armor set is animated by Nadalia's influence and floats around on its own. Because of this you cannot backstab them. Furthermore, Possessed Armor found in Brume-infested areas will continuously respawn until the Ashen Idol located there is destroyed.
  • Artificial Brilliance: If they target you from afar and you try to take cover behind a short wall or a pillar, they can angle their bow so that it'll shoot you from above or the sides and hit you anyway.
  • Cold Sniper: From afar they can be very dangerous, as their hovering greatbows can maneuver to hit you past anything that's not a corner.
  • Confusion Fu: In melee their attacks can be hard to predict and counter, especially their overhead slam which ends with them lying on the floor: sometimes they're open, most of the other times they'll suddenly launch a rising spiral attack to punish you if you tried to take advantage of the opening.
  • Flaming Sword: The tip of their longswords is still on fire, meaning that it can deal extra fire damage even if you parry with your shield.

    Iron Warrior 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iron_warrior_0.jpg

Hulking, headless behemoths covered in full armor and brandishing humongous clubs, these colossi are among the most formidable defenses of the Brume Tower. They can occasionally spill scalding metal from their shoulderpads.


  • Animated Armor: The lack of an helmet shows that there's seemingly noone actually wearing the armor. They can be poisoned though.
  • Carry a Big Stick: Most of them wield the Smelter Hammer, which is essentially a giant lump of half-molten iron used as a club. Some variants wield a nastier-looking mace formed by a plethora of edged flanges which can inflict bleed.
  • Glacier Waif: They hit like trucks, but as expected their attacks leave them wide open and vulnerable. Getting advantage of said openings can be difficult though because of the random scalding splashes coming from their shoulders.
  • Hidden in Plain Sight: There's a plateau midway through which houses three Iron Warriors... all hidden under the ash until you approach.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: The molten metal pouring out of their shoulders doesn't make distinction between friend or foe, so in certain areas they often end up killing themselves by setting alight explosive barrels or Cask Runners.
  • Magma Man: Downplayed, they will occasionally spill scalding metal from their shoulderpads, damaging all those caught in the spill area.
  • Our Minotaurs Are Different: Downplayed, they do drop the Minotaur Helm, implying that they were supposed to wear such a helmet as part of their uniform.

    Astrologist 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/astrologist.png

Masked miracle users dwelling in the Iron Passage. They can support the other resident Hollows with deadly comboes of Miracles and Hexes.


  • Anti-Magic: They will use Profound Still to hamper spellcasters. Sometimes they combine it with Promised Walk of Peace to further limit your options.
  • Bright Is Not Good: They wear brightly colored robes adorned with stellar motifs. They are just as evil as the other mobs.
  • Irony: They look like astrologists... and are found in a deep cavern with no access to the sky.
  • Shock and Awe: When switching to the offense they'll start using lightning-based miracles.

    The Fume Knight 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ds2_fume_knight_5.jpg

The former Sir Raime of Drangleic, one of Vendricks four knights. After his disgraced resignation from Vendrick's forces, he journeyed to the Brume Tower to find greater strength. He did indeed find the greater strength he was looking for, but not from the regal father, but from a newfound mother who gave him true purpose.


  • Admiring the Abomination: His soul states that he "became infatuated with the Bride of Ash".
  • Animal Motifs: According to the Rebel's Greatshield which once belonged to him, the raven was said to be his favorite animal. Since ravens are associated with Velka, the Goddess of Sin...
  • Berserk Button: If the world master wears Velstadt's helm when entering his chamber, or equips it any time during the fight, he'll buff up his BFS immediately. Guess he never forgot about the defeat he suffered at Velstadt's hands.
  • Big "NO!": When killed, Raime shouts "Nooo!" twice and then he can be faintly heard crying out for Nadalia as he fades.
  • Black Knight: His armor has been charred jet-black, and he's even more ominous than the Pursuer, acting as the final obstacle in your quest for the Crown of the Old Iron King. It can purchased from Magerold of Lanafir after you defeat the boss.
  • BFS: The Fume Ultra Greatsword he wields in his left hand is massive, and more resembles a slab of iron with a hilt attached than an actual sword... now where have I heard that before.
    • It's so big it can be used as a shield......and, in fact, blocks as part of its heavy attack animation.
      • His smaller sword also has the longest range of any straight sword in the game.
  • Boss-Altering Consequence:
    • In Brume Tower, there are four Ashen Idols right outside of the Fume Knight's boss arena. If you don't destroy them using Smelter Wedges before you fight him, they'll heal him during the battle.
    • If you start the Fume Knight's fight wearing Velstadt's Helm, he will automatically transition to his second phase. Justified by the fact that Velstadt, the Royal Aegis, is (partially) responsible for having the Fume Knight declared a traitor.
  • Counter-Attack: He can and will block[/]parry your attacks then beat your head in while you're recoiling.
  • Dark Is Evil: He's clad in black armour, his blades are powered by a fragment of a Child of Dark, and he's malevolent compared to the rest of the knight bosses found in the game.
    • Dark Is Not Evil: It's indicated that before his betrayal he was just as much an honorable knight as Velstadt.
  • Death Cry Echo: Lets out a Big "NO!" and a barely audible "Nadalia!" as he dies.
  • Defector from Decadence: The exact reasons for why he left Vendrick in disgrace are vague at best, but the best possible interpretation would be that he realized what Nashandra really was and what she was doing to the kingdom, but the King was blinded by love and Velstadt his faith in the King. The resulting clash was one he lost and so was exiled.
  • Dual Wielding: Wields a longsword in his right hand and a BFS in his left. Woe betide when he decides to ditch the smaller sword.
  • Evil Counterpart:
    • He could be considered an evil counterpart to the main character: Unlike your character, when confronted by A Child Of Dark, he did not fight against that individual, but instead joined her. Meanwhile, when faced with the same situation, your character fights without hesitation.
    • From a Souls series perspective, he's a Shadow Archetype to Knight Artorias from the first game's DLC: both are powerful knights tainted by the Dark, but while Artorias was corrupted by force, Raime willingly gave himself to it. an unused item description for the Majestic Greatsword, which is the Abyss Greatsword wielded by Artorias in the first game's DLC, states that Raime owned the weapon prior to giving himself up to Nadalia, furthering the connection. Furthermore, both Raime and Artorias had a similar shift in fighting styles from wielding a sword and shield in combination to becoming an aggressive Guts-expy swordsman.
    • The connections with Velstadt inevitably lead to comparisons to Garl Vinland. Just like Garl, Raime guards the "real" Big Bad of his area, but in both cases the charge is essentially helpless; Astraea will commit suicide after Garl's killed while Nadalia's abandoned her physical form entirely and can't stop you from taking the Old Iron King's crown.
  • Evil Weapon: His swords are tainted with the darkness of Nadalia's presence, and his BFS will start unleashing black Abyss flames in the second phase. It is said that Raime had the ability to outright disperse the dark fog in the Brume Tower, but instead chose to live along with it. It's implied that the fragment of Nadalia's soul he drops upon defeat was haunting his sword, which explains why he can empower it with the same dark flames as Nadalia's signature Outcry pyromancy.
  • Expy: Visually, one of Guts, being a black knight with a massive sword that looks more like a slab of iron.
  • Fallen Hero: Raime was once one of Vendrick's most trusted men, alongside Velstadt. Then he turned against Vendrick, fought and lost against Velstadt, and left in disgrace. Afterwards, even if you believe he was banished unjustly, he definitely became one when he came to the Brume Tower, where he set himself at home, his weapons imbued with the darkness of Nadalia, the Bride of Ash.
  • Foil:
    • From a lore perspective, he's Velstadt's antithesis: whereas the latter swore eternal allegiance to his liege and eventually ended up following him to his grave, Raime forsook and betrayed Vendrick, opting for greater power and leaving in disgrace after a fight with Velstadt. Though who was actually in the right is up for interpretation.
    • He's at odds with Sir Alonne. Raime is fought in the dark, ash-covered pit at the bottom of Brume Tower, while Alonne is challenged in a pristine, sunlit room near the top floor of the same building. Both are Magic Knights with Evil Weapons, but Raime uses two swords (during the first part of the fight, at least) and is left-handed, while Sir Alonne uses one sword the entire fight and is right-handed.
  • Hot Blade: He wreathes his BFS in a combination of flames and Abyss magic when he gets down to half health. If the world master wears Velstadt's helm, he'll set his sword ablaze immediately.
    • His big sword also gets covered in glowing orange cracks for a while whenever he hits the ground with it. Interestingly, if the player keeps baiting him to do that attack and not let the sword cool, he will never move to his second phase.
  • I Am Not Left-Handed: At the start, he dual-wields, using his greatsword rarely. Once down to half-health or if he sees you wearing a certain armor set, he quits playing around, and starts using his greatsword exclusively... and it will be empowered with both dark and fire, so there is not a single shield in the game that can block 100% of its damage.
  • Lady and Knight: Raime is the Black Knight to Nadalia's Dark Lady.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: His final fate is ironically similar to the fates of his former comrade Velstadt and his former liege Vendrick, the people he betrayed. Like Velstadt, Raime is also a mighty knight who guards the resting place of a monarch out of Undying Loyalty, and became tainted by Dark in the process. Like Vendrick, Raime also fell in love with a Child of Dark.
  • Leitmotif: "Raime, the Fume Knight", an ominous low-key symphonic which undermines the brutal showdown against a Fallen Hero sprung forth from the deepest reaches of the DLC's area.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Once wielded the Rebel Greatshield, but replaced it with Dual Wielding. Said shield has low physical resistance, but can be upgraded to nullify magic of any element outright once infused.
  • Love Makes You Evil: Whatever goodness that was left in him after his betrayal and banishment from Drangleic most likely was snuffed out after he "became infatuated with the Bride of Ash", infusing her power and essence into his sword and body.
  • Magic Knight: After losing enough health, he'll ditch his smaller sword and tap into the power of Nadalia's soul fragment. His greatsword will then become alight with fire and dark, and he starts launching fireballs.
  • Mighty Glacier: During his first phase, he lumbers around with his two swords and sluggishly performs combos, which still have the ability to stunlock you for high damage. When he ditches his smaller sword, the second phase of the fight begins, and he becomes a Lightning Bruiser as he suddenly picks up speed; his BFS's swings are much faster, and he'll close the gap between you and him in a heartbeat.
  • Mythology Gag: Many of his attack animations during the second phase of the fight are lifted directly from Gwyn Lord of Cinder, the final boss of the original Dark Souls. Especially noticeable since both wield giant flaming swords. His armour also looks similar to that of Knight Artorias after he was corrupted by the Abyss.
  • Optional Boss: The Fume Knight resides at the very bottom of the Brume Tower, which will require you hours of exploration within that particular DLC area. Killing him will allow you to recover the crown of the Old Iron King behind his boss arena.
  • Power of the Void: He appears in a vortex of Darkness when you approach his sword.
  • Puzzle Boss: It's perfectly possible to run out of Smelter Wedges before engaging him, in which case whatever Nadalia idol remains will emit the Warmth pyromancy, which will constantly regenerate his health. The fight will then degenerate into making sure the Fume Knight stays away from said idol.
  • Recurring Element: Raime is Dark Souls II's stand-in for Knight Artorias from the first game's DLC; both are Fallen Heroes who were previously acquainted with their respective game's ruling figure, are nearly unparalleled with their swordplay, and have found a new power in the darkness of the Abyss. Their armour piece is also nearly similar and is sold by the resident Collector of the Strange, and their signature greatshield possesses the highest total resistances in the game. Unlike Artorias, who remained loyal to his monarch until he was enslaved by the Abyss, Raime betrayed his king and willingly gave himself to the Dark. And much like Artorias, the Fume Knight is a gratuitous Guts clone.
  • Screaming Warrior: Not since King Allant has there been one of this quality. Throughout the fight, he'll be howling at you like a raving beast.
  • A Sinister Clue: In contrast to Velstadt, the Right hand, Raime was known as the Left Hand. This becomes more obvious once he ditches his smaller sword.
  • Undying Loyalty: Same as his former comrade Velstadt, though to a far different monarch. Still, there are hints that before his betrayal he was just as loyal to Vendrick as the Royal Aegis.
  • The Unseen: In the base game, Raime was nothing more than a historical figure described in the Rebel's Greatshield. The Crown of the Old Iron King changes this by revealing his whereabouts after breaking away from Vendrick.
  • Violation of Common Sense: Can't get around to dodge his explosive, fireball-spewing Sword Plant attack in the second phase? Get a greatshield and get right next to him! Sure, it will bruise you a bit and break your guard, but it's simpler than predicting the fireballs' movement.
  • Weapon Tombstone: The ash-coated greatsword planted in the ground looks to be this, but when you approach it...

    Sir Alonne 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sir_alonne_4803.jpg

A warrior from the far east who won the Old Iron King's favor, becoming his most trusted knight. After Alonne's departure, the Old Iron King named his samurai-like iron warriors the Alonne Knights in his honor.


  • Anti-Villain: Is noticeably one of the few knights in the Souls series to be uncorrupted by the Dark, and doesn't seem to have any malevolence in his actions, simply looking for a worthy rival. He's also one of the few bosses in the franchise who are outright honourable, similar to Great Grey Wolf Sif and her Undying Loyalty towards Artorias. He's even less villainous with the revelation that he left the Iron King due to the fact he was so disgusted with his depravity.
  • BFS: He wields a zanbato longer than he is tall.
  • Blood Magic: His blade seems to power itself up (for a short time, anyway) by drawing blood, specifically by stabbing you. If you use his blade you can do this yourself, sacrificing some of your health for a significant attack boost. Also, if you're too far away, he'll use an attack reminiscent of the Dark Greatsword Hex from the Sunken Crown DLC.
  • Call-Back: If you journeyed to Shulva, Sanctum City, there's a peculiar hex that creates a projectile along with a greatsword swing. If you have phantoms with you, Sir Alonne will use a similar attack more likely than you alone.
  • Casting a Shadow: Uses what's basically the Dark Greatsword hex, and blatantly teleports mid-fight.
  • Death Cry Echo: His death wail is unsurprisingly the same rusty echo as the Alonne knights, which in turn is recycled from the Black Knights in the first Dark Souls.
  • Death from Above: One of his deadliest attacks has him perform a leaping slash which will shave off up to two thirds of your health.
  • Defector from Decadence: If you subscribe to the idea that the reason he left was because the Iron King had become consumed by his own pride and power, which by this point was far too unhealthy for any sane person. Considering that the kingdom started to really go downhill once he left, there might be some truth to this idea.
    • This has been confirmed by Scholar of the First Sin. He left the Iron King in disgust after witnessing his descent into depravity.
  • Disappears into Light: Like the rest of the DLC bosses included in the Lost Crown Trilogy, Sir Alonne will light up before disappearing into specks of light once defeated. However, this can be averted if your killing blow knocks him off his feet, in which case he'll stay downed for a few seconds before dissipating into red ashes.
  • Dreamwalker: Sir Alonne is long gone by the time of Dark Souls II, his armour and signature sword kept in pristine condition within the upper floors of the Brume Tower. It is only through a travel into the Memory of the Old Iron King that you can meet and fight the samurai-like knight.
  • Evil Weapon: The Japanese description of his sword reveals it had a will of its own note , and sought blood of its own accord by possibly possessing the wielder. This either means Alonne was strong enough to control the weapon's urges, or fell victim to it and was under its thrall when you find him in the memories. It also adds another layer of complexity to his Seppuku, since if it is a sentient weapon, he might not be committing suicide out of his own accord...
  • Flash Step: Some of his sword lunges allow him to slide from one corner of the room to another.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: He helped an insignificant Venn-dependent lord become the Iron King and went away at the peak of his sire's rule, implying that the realm went downhill right after his departure.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Throughout the fight, Sir Alonne will make several attempts to pierce you with his blade, and if he does, he'll hold you up in the air before throwing you away, his sword now powered up with dark-red Abyss magic. He's also perfectly capable of parrying you, knocking you on your ass, and impaling said ass while you're vulnerable.
  • Impossibly Cool Weapon: His Bewitched Alonne Sword is as close to a classical depiction of a zanbato as it can get, combining the extra large handle of a nagamaki and the long blade of a nodachi. It's appropriately sized for Sir Alonne, who is much taller than the Player Character, the resulting weapon being a BFS that cuts frighteningly fast and powers itself through the blood of whoever it pierces.
  • Katanas Are Just Better: Wields a large-handled zanbato wreathed in Abyss magic. You can acquire it by trading Sir Alonne's soul to Weaponsmith Ornifex, and it's one of the strongest weapons for its weight, combining range with quick swings and high counter damage, crippled only by a mediocre amount of durability, which is 30 points worth. Still, when its durability is compared to the other katanas, it's in the middle.
  • Knight Errant: His honor, and how much he values it, is perhaps the most defining characteristic of him. If the player bows to him before their fight, Alonne will nod, acknowledging it as an honorable duel, and bow to them when they defeat him. If the player should shame him by not letting him land a blow on them, he will commit suicide to retain his honor.
  • Leitmotif: "Sir Alonne", an imperious and radiant piece that combines an epic Orchestral Bombing with tension-inducing violin bouts and a truly heroic chanting.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Despite his size he moves absurdly fast, and his katana strikes hit deceptively hard. Capable of chaining combos with his swordplay, Sir Alonne gives you little time to rest before unleashing a flurry of slashes.
  • Magic Knight: Combines a cursed blade with hexes and teleportation.
  • Master Swordsman: He fights with nothing but his swordplay, and his aggressive combat style will probably put you on the defensive, even with phantom summons. To top it off, he can parry you when he seems to lower his sword.
  • Mythology Gag: Wears an armour set that resembles Shiva of the East from the first Dark Souls, and similarly comes from a distant country that's implied to have Wutai vibes.
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: A wandering swordsman from the far east with Chinese inspired armor, a Japanese inspired sword, who goes by the English title of "Sir" with super speed and some kind of blood magic.
  • Optional Boss: As with any other DLC boss, but gaining access to him in particular requires you to acquire the Crown of the Old Iron King, after which his armour on display will flare up, and the Ashen Mist Heart, acquired late in the main game. Overall, this makes him one of last bosses fought in a playthrough, as you will need to have progressed all the way to the Dragon Shrine, then defeat the Fume Knight, who is the DLC's mandatory boss fight.
  • Power of the Void: Like the Old Dragonslayer, his weapon is infused with Dark magic. While the beginning of his fight is straightforward for a Master Swordsman such as he, things get spicy when he impales you, powering up his sword, its blade now emitting a dark-red aura and gaining the ability to shoot several Sword Beams.
  • Rōnin: According to related item descriptions, Sir Alonne was a knight from the far east who wandered the lands, until he met the Iron King, when he was little more than a minor lord. Sir Alonne helped the Iron King become one of the most powerful monarchs of the time, and became the King's closest friend. Then, when the Iron King reached the pinnacle of his rule, Sir Alonne left, possibly to seek a new master, though it's just as possible that the player's actions in Memory of the Old Iron King are responsible for his disappearance.
  • Samurai: His armour is based off from one, and is strikingly similar to the one worn by Dark Souls's Shiva of the East. Additionally, he wields a zanbato, and can be seen meditating when you enter the boss room. The set can be obtained from Magerold of Lanafir after defeating Sir Alonne, though it is possible for him to drop a piece right after the fight.
  • Seppuku: If you defeat him quickly enough and without taking any damage, he impales himself in the stomach instead of his normal death animation. Perhaps out of shame and dishonor at getting beaten so thoroughly and totally, or perhaps because his Evil Weapon's demand for blood had to be satisfied, and since it didn't get to have any of your blood...
  • Sword and Fist: He won't hesitate to kick you if you are too close. This has the added effect of breaking your shield guard and making you vulnerable to incoming attacks. If he jumps backwards and you're caught in the animation, you will also receive major damage.
  • Sword Beam: Once his sword is powered up, he can fire small rays of shadow in your direction.
  • Walking the Earth: Sir Alonne is a knight from the Far East, who left home, seeking strong foes and a purpose. He found the Old Iron King when he was little but an impoverished Lord, and helped the King to establish his great kingdom. Then, Sir Alonne left suddenly, when the King had seemingly reached the pinnacle of his rule. Presumably, he left the Iron King because he had fulfilled his purpose, and he wasn't needed any longer. Another possible interpretation is that he was slain by the player in their match within Memory of the Old Iron King. Another possible interpretation is that he became disgusted with how much the Iron King had fallen victim to his own pride and power and was in fact slain by the King in vengeance, with the player simply reliving the Memory from the point of view of the Iron King himself.
    • After Scholar of the First Sin confirmed that Sir Alonne left the Iron King after witnessing his descent into depravity, the third interpretation has gained ground after being boosted by several prominent lore theorists.
  • We Used to Be Friends: If Sir Alonne was indeed slain by the Old Iron King after turning away from his lord's cruelty, their final battle was likely of this sort, given that the Old Iron King is known to have continued to cherish Sir Alonne's armor and weapon, and fondly bequeathed his Knight's name to the King's iron warriors.
  • Worthy Opponent: When the Bearer of the Curse enters his boss chamber, Sir Alonne quickly rises to his feet and shows them respect by nodding his head as a short bow before attacking. note 

    Nadalia, Bride of Ash 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ashen_idol_8019.png

"Let me surround you..."

A Child of Dark who journeyed to the Iron Keep and Brume Tower in order to take the Old Iron King as her own. Upon reaching the kingless land, devoid of souls, she condemned herself to a fate most wretched. In despair, she forsook her own soul and spread her essence about the king's heirlooms. Her new form, a black ashen fog, encompassed the Brume Tower, animating decorative suits of armor to defend her newfound kingdom.


  • Abhorrent Admirer: If you can decipher what her idols are saying, you'll find that she's basically flirting with you. It's really creepy.
  • Already Done for You: When she arrived to bring ruin to the Old Iron King's kingdom, as was her mission as a Child of Dark, she found to her great dismay that he had done a fantastic job of it on his own, and had already met his fate beneath the molten iron.
  • And I Must Scream: It is highly unlikely that she's happy the way she is now, given that her body is long dead and she has no physical form. If she was not insane before, after untold ages without a physical form and no one to talk to, she's certainly insane now.
  • Animated Armor: She possesses suits of armor to attack the Bearer of the Curse.
  • Black Widow: She intended to become this to the Old Iron King. Considering she appeared after he died his kingdom was abandoned, it seriously bit her in the ass.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Her soul's description says she became "dispirited" when she realized she'd invaded a land devoid of a king or souls, and forsook her physical form to become a black fog.
  • Energy Being: although you do find her long dead physical body, her true form now appears to be the orange, red and black flames within her idols.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: One of her dialogue quotes is "My dear... sister..."
  • Gotta Catch Them All: You will have to comb through the entire tower to get all 12 of her soul fragments. Finding all of them rewards you with the complete soul of Nadalia, which can be used to trade for powerful pyromancy spell or chime.
  • Heal It With Fire: Half of the ashen idols, four of which surround the Fume Knight's boss arena, can cast a large-scale version of the Warmth pyromancy, healing enemies at an alarming rate.
  • Humanoid Abomination: If the ashen idols are accurate likenesses, like the other Children of Dark she was humanoid, but carried the essence of a forgotten, malevolent abomination that corrupted everything in its path.
  • Lady and Knight: Nadalia is the Dark Lady to Raime's Black Knight.
  • My Rules Are Not Your Rules: The Warmth pyromancy, when used by players, heals everything in its area of effect indiscriminately, be it friendly or enemy. When it is used by one of Nadalia's idols, it only heals the enemies, does it much faster than the version usable by the player, and has a much larger area of effect. Good luck fighting Raime without first taking care of the four Warmth-casting idols surrounding his boss arena.
  • Playing with Fire: Some of Nadalia's idols unleash the pyromancy Outcry when you approach them, with several pillars of black-and-red fire erupting from the ground.
  • Soul Fragment: She was a Child of Dark, just like Elana and Nashandra, but she screwed herself over by invading after the Old Iron King had become Ichorous Earth. Realizing she was in kingless land devoid of souls to harvest, she forsook her physical form, entrusting her fragments of her soul to the ashen idols scattered about Brume Tower.
  • Soul Jar: Eleven ashen idols scattered throughout the DLC hold fragments of her soul. The twelfth one resides within the Fume Knight's greatsword.
  • The Unintelligible: Her ashen idols are constantly whispering sinisterly. When you kill them, however, each one has a different line of dialogue that - while hard to decipher - is English and very creepy.
  • The Unfought: You get fragments of her soul from the Fume Knight and ashen idols, meaning she's been dead for a long time. However, the ashen idols encountered throughout the DLC are quintessentially "her". All they can do is whisper unintelligible words and occasionally cast the Outcry pyromancy. It is likely for the best that this is the case: It is strongly indicated by her soul that she was incredibly strong as Children of the Dark go. Nashandra was the weakest, and Elana was not indicated to be especially strong or weak, indicating that she was probably average. Thus, if Nadalia were still in possession of her physical form, she likely would have been a fight that would have made either one of them look harmless by comparison.
  • Villainesses Want Heroes: Her rather flirtatious dialogue quotes imply she mistakes the Bearer of the Curse for the Old Iron King, who you have to defeat to access the DLC.

    Drifter Swordsman Aidel 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/32wgigo.png

A warrior available for summoning in the Lost Crowns Trilogy DLC. Helps you fight the blue Smelter Demon and Sir Alonne.


  • Artificial Brilliance: He and Lorrie are as human as they can get for NPC summons. They use gestures to communicate with you (or carvestones in Aidel's case), coordinate their attacks well, and sometimes stop fighting just to taunt the boss, much to the player's chagrin.
  • Bash Brothers: He and Lorrie can be summoned for the same bosses, and make a solid team together.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Kicks major ass with his twinblade and looks cool while he's at it. As soon as he gets to meet Sir Alonne, though, he will often drop a "Hello!" carvestone in the middle of a fight.
  • Double Weapon: Wields a Stone Twinblade.

    Steel-willed Lorrie 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/16044830526_107c924068_o.jpg

Another warrior available for summoning in the Lost Crowns Trilogy DLC. Can fight the same bosses as Aidel.


  • Artificial Brilliance: The first thing she does upon getting summoned is greeting you with a carvestone. And when defeating a boss? A "Welcome!" gesture. Also, she seems to have been tweaked with in regards to the fight against Sir Alonne, where she can randomly choose to not take up arms for most of the fight and let you duel with the boss.
  • Back-to-Back Badasses: Her and Aidel can be summoned for the same bosses, and surprisingly work well together.
  • Mighty Glacier: She's slow, but her armour ensures she'll shrug off most attacks, and retaliates hard with her Mastodon Greatsword.
  • Troll: A mild variant, but if you're unlucky enough, Lorrie's A.I. will spend a good chunk of the fight against Sir Alonne trying to approach the boss, only to break out with the "Welcome!" gesture, effectively depriving you of an otherwise capable tank.

    Maldron the Assassin 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maldronpng.png

A cowardly warrior who invades on a tower separate from Brume Tower. He wields a Chariot Lance, and the Rebel's Greatshield. He shows up again in the Frozen Eleum Loyce, this time as a human posing as a white phantom.


  • Artificial Stupidity:
    • It's entirely possible for Maldron to fall to his death while fleeing down the stairs.
    • At Eleum Loyce, it's possible to block him on doorframes while he's trying to flee. He'll do nothing but walk foward until he manages to slip away, though it's not possible to cheese him so easily from this as he'll start attacking if damaged enough.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: When you find him in Crown of the Ivory King, he hides the fact that he's not an actual phantom by wearing the White Ring. In addition, he performs gestures to greet you when you first meet. However, the moment you turn your back on him to pull a switch...
  • Combat Pragmatist:
    • Throws corrosive urns to break your equipment, and even goads you into following him downstairs, where many enemies await you.
    • In the third DLC, he will... simply flee once you start being hostile to him, luring you into an ice arena with an albino version of the Covetous Demon. As if it wasn't enough, both he and the miniboss will start shooting corrosive stuff at you!
  • The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: He can heal with Estus, despite being an invader. In "Crown of the Ivory King" however, he's a non-phantom enemy.
  • Cowardly Lion: Despite his cowardice, he's a surprisingly deadly fighter when he has nowhere to run. He has high health, good poise and his lance attacks hurt.
  • Dirty Coward: After taking enough damage, Maldron quickly flees down to the base of the tower. Said tower contains a whole host of angry enemies, buffed up by a curse spewing Nadalia idol. In Crown of the Ivory King, he runs away the instant you catch on to his deception and attack him. If you did open the nearby gate, this time he lures you into an arena with an albino Covetous Demon. He also employs a rather cowardly loadout: a greatshield to safely hide behind and a long poking weapon that can attack without having to lower the shield.
  • Eviler than Thou: Should you use Seed of a Tree of Giant during "Crown of the Ivory King" encounter, he turns against other invaders. What makes it even better is that it is possible for you to dress as Maldron and team up against other invaders, or invading that area while disguising as Maldron.
  • Hate Sink: You can't really hate Raime or Alonne as both are too damn cool, you can't hate Aava as she's merely doing her duty and is an animal without understanding of morality, nor can you hate The Ivory King due to his sympathetic story. You will, however, hate this invader due to being everything a PvP and PvE player hates.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: He's practically begging you to use a Seed of a Tree of Giants to turn the mooks he's using as meatshields against him. This is useless in "Crown of the Ivory King" however as he's treated as normal enemy instead of a Black Phantom (however this means that if you do use a Seed then he will be turned against any other Black Phantoms who come near him).
  • Interface Spoiler: Notice how you didn't actually summon anyone and how a separate HP bar doesn't appear when he shows up in the Crown of The Ivory King? Even more obvious is where he doesn't go after any enemies when there are still any around, in addition to being able to be locked on even before he tries to stab you from behind, making it obvious that he isn't your friend.
  • Jousting Lance: Wields a Heide Greatlance, which he will use to poke you from behind his greatshield.
  • Schmuck Bait: At Brume Tower, Maldron sneakily spawns behind a wall and it is likely the player will absentmindedly try to open the nearby chest thinking he's coming from the staircase below. Cue the backstab. At Eleum Loyce he disguises himself as a white phantom and leads the player to a switch, also hoping to score a backstab on them while it is pulled.
  • Troll: Along with his urns and Estus, Maldron will do the "No Way" gesture when he performs a backstab, and the "Mock" gesture if you die. In the third DLC, should you get killed, he'll instead use the "Decapitate" gesture.

    Quicksword Rachel 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/quicksword_rachel.png

A heavily armored swordswoman who invades on another tower separate from Brume Tower. She wields a bastard sword and the Drangleic shield.


  • Artificial Stupidity: Can be baited into circling the oil filled sconces after they are lit on fire. Bonus points if they were lit by her own sword.
  • BFS: Uses a bastard sword.
  • Combat Pragmatist: She uses various resins to buff her sword, and attacks you in a dim-lit area, which can be worsened if you happen to open the wrong door, in which case you'll be running into fat exploding Undeads.

    Prowlers 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cwafctl.png

The Prowlers are a group of six warriors that manifest on the stairwell leading up to the Smelters Throne. They are all dressed in the Mad Warrior's set, and wield katanas and bows.


Characters introduced in Crown of the Ivory King

    Spellsword 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/16068405471_215b773185_o.jpg

Frost-covered warriors who patrol the walls of Eleum Loyce. They can use their swords to cast ice spears from far away.


  • Cool Sword: Most of them wield the Ice Rapier, a crystalline arming sword which can summon ice spikes and throw them.
  • Elite Mook: Some variants have "shells" of ice crystals emerging from their backs. They are stronger than normal and immune to backstabbing.
  • Glass Cannon: They can deal a lot of damage in both melee and distance, but their defenses are lacking and can be easily backstabbed and killed with little effort.
  • Magic Knight: They are mostly warriors but will attack you with spells provided by their own sword if you try to stay away.

    Retainer 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8wy4dfu.png

Long ago, the retainers attended to the priestesses of Eleum Loyce, but with their disappearance, the retainers were left to wander the frigid city without purpose.


  • Despair Event Horizon: Implied that their current state is due to Alsanna locking herself in the Cathedral to contain the Chaos.
  • Dual Wielding: One variant doesn't use spells but attack with dual knives.
  • Glass Cannon: Retainers can do some damage with their backstabbing attempts and spells, but they go down very easily once you can land an attack on them.
  • In the Hood: They all wear white hoods over their heads. Then again, it's a cold place.
  • Savage Setpiece: When you first enter Eleum Loyce you can see many of them sitting around in the cold, doing nothing at all. When you persuade Alsanna to remove the eternal blizzard, they'll wake up and become actively hostile.

    Ice Golem 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sin_icegolem.jpg

Massive artificial creatures made of ice, they attack all intruders by morphing their limbs into ice weapons.


  • Blade Below the Shoulder: They can form swords or giant cudgels from their arms and use them to attack in melee.
  • Golem: They look like crude humanoid figures made of ice and tasked with protecting Eleum Loyce. They're not even the most advanced version found there...
  • An Ice Person: They are made entirely of ice and can form blades or clubs to attack.
  • Mighty Glacier: They can take much more punishment than the normal soldiers. They're also literally made of ice.
  • Savage Setpiece: Some of them pretend to be random ice structures emerging from walls, only to animate when you approach.

    Rampart Golem 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xe7xdrj.png

Long ago, these knights were charged with the containment of the creatures of chaos within the boundaries of Eleum Loyce. When the doors of city were flung open, the place turned frigid and lifeless, but the golems remained dutifully on guard.


  • Golem: They are called as such and are more refined and deadly than the standard Ice Golems. You can however obtain their armor set.
  • An Ice Person: They wear enchanted ice equipment and can summon their lances after throwing them.
  • Jousting Lance: Their weapon of choice is a gigantic icicle-like lance in melee and they can even throw it at you if you're too far.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: They make use of a shield to protect themselves.
  • Monster Knight: Unlike the standard golems, these are shaped like knights and actually serve a cause.

    Frozen Golem 

Massive soul-powered golems, based on the Giants. Several of them lie motionless and frozen over in the dephts of Eleum Loyce, waiting for souls to gain motion.


  • Golem: They resemble the ones in Castle Drangleic, but they are actually hostile upon activation.
  • Logical Weakness: They will awaken as soon as they absorb a soul, but you can destroy them while they are deactivated. However, if there's another Golem close by, destroying a deactivated Golem will awaken it.
  • Mighty Glacier: They are enormous and slow, but they hit very hard and are quite sturdy.
  • Savage Setpiece: Once they're unfrozen, they will just stay there and can be killed if attacked enough... but if any enemy dies near them they will absorb the souls and animate.
  • Soul Power: As with the Golems in Drangleic Castle, these being are powered by souls.
  • Your Soul Is Mine!: They can absorb souls to animate themselves and their special grab attack has them sucking out the Souls of the player, dealing massive damage.

    Ice Rat 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sin_icerat.jpg

Large porcupine-like animals covered in ice spikes, they live in the forests of Eleum Loyce and will brutally attack intruders by rolling into them.


    Ice Stallion 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0ga5sdbfvo171.jpg

Massive magical creatures born in the blizzards, these horse-like creatures violently charge all those who dare crossing the Frigid Outskirts using antlers and thunderbolts.


  • Animalistic Abomination: They are massive, deer/horse like creatures who can freely conjure lightning and apparently are born from snowstorms, as if they're not even animals but incarnation of nature itself.
  • Hellish Horse: They are called as such and are very powerful opponents.
  • Horn Attack: They'll usually charge out of the storm horn-first, trying to run you through.
  • Implacable Man: They almost continuously spawn in the Frigid Outskirts when the snowstorm is up and will home on the players like icy lightning bolts of muscle and wrath.
  • Non-Indicative Name: Despite the Stallion nomenclature, they have reideer-like horns.
  • Shock and Awe: They can channel lightning bolts in their horns to attack.

    The King's Pets 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aava_5784.jpg
From top to bottom: Aava the King's Pet, Zallen and Lud the King's Pets. 

Each of the Ivory King's seven beasts was conferred a specific duty. Aava's was the guardianship of the King's beloved child of Dark, while Zallen and Lud were to mercy kill the exiles. Aava is found guarding the way to the Cathedral; Zallen and Lud are fought together in the Frigid Outskirts.


  • An Ice Person: Aava is coated in ice. All three pets can cast various ice related spells, ranging from a boss-sized Homing Crystal Soulmass to a simple icicle shockwave.
  • Beef Gate: Aava appears at the very beginning of the DLC, and its invisibility will force you to backtrack and search for Eye of the Priestess. Alsanna even says you're making a grave mistake by trying to step through the fog gate.
  • Boss-Altering Consequence: Aava starts off completely invisible. You are supposed to trek around the level and find the Eye of the Priestess, which lets you see her, but you can fight her without it.
  • Cats Are Mean: All three of them are extremely vicious, giant tigers.
  • Dual Boss: Zallen and Lud are fought together, though Zallen will only join in once Lud starts getting injured.
  • Fluffy the Terrible: The last thing you envision when hearing about a King's Pet is a humongous ice tiger.
  • Hopeless Boss Fight: Aava's invisibility, which can get dispelled by a particular item, makes it nearly impossible to defeat. Key word is "nearly", as a ridiculously skilled enough player can defeat it without acquiring the item needed to make it visible.
  • Invisibility: Aava is invisible until you obtain the Eye of the Priestess.
  • Kung-Shui: Those ornate statues on the bridge are just begging for Aava to smash them into rubble as soon as it runs around the arena.
  • Leitmotif: Two of them.
    • "Aava, the King's Pet". Solemn and sinister, Aava is fought at the sound of a dirge representing its duty-bound nature; Alsanna warned you to back off, and Aava makes sure her will is respected through your death.
    • "Lud & Zallen, The King's Pets" starts blaring once you enter Zallen and Lud's lair.
  • Lightning Bruiser: All of them are gigantic in size, akin to Sif and the Royal Rat Authority, and their movements cover a lot of distance, making it hard for you to follow them. Their attacks are also extremely damaging, and it's not surprising if you get taken out in two or three hits.
  • Lord British Postulate: Aava can be killed without ever finding the Eye of the Priestess, although it requires you some extreme prediction as to where its attacks land while it's invisible. There are no changes in Alsanna's dialogue if you manage to pull through, however.
  • Mercy Kill: The explicit duty for Zallen and Lud, who are to slay any exile thrown in the Frigid Outskirts.
  • Mooks Ate My Equipment: Like with Sihn, attacking them causes increased weapon degradation. This is especially dangerous during the dual battle at the end of the Frigid Outskirts.
  • Optional Boss: As with any other DLC boss, though Aava is mandatory if you want to get the titular crown. Lud and Zallen, on the other hand, provide no relevance to the questline, and are fought at the end of a very brutal optional area.
  • Panthera Awesome: Aava is a huge, frozen tiger. Zallen and Lud are also huge, darkness covered tigers.
  • Turns Red: Should either Lud or Zallen fall, the remaining one will temporarily buff itself with Abyss magic once its health is down to half. Not only does it gain a large boost in elemental damage and physical defence, but its health will also regenerate at a steady pace for the buff's duration.
  • Undying Loyalty: Though their master was lost to the flames of Chaos, they still never abandoned him. Even now they fight with tooth and claw fulfilling the duties he assigned to them.

    Burnt Ivory King 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ds2_burnt_ivory_king_5.jpg

Far to the North, a King built a great cathedral to appease the raging flame. But when he sensed the degradation of his soul, he left without a word, leaving everything to Alsanna. The Ivory King was once the highest ranking knight in his home of Forossa, famed for its god of war. After taking his crown, they say he was the first to swing his sword in times of need, be it for his homeland or his people.


  • 24-Hour Armor: The Ivory King and his knights never took off their armor in public.
  • An Ice Person: Appears to enchant his blade with ice, and can stab his blade into the ground to summon a barrage of ice crystals.
  • All-Loving Hero: If his marriage to Alsanna isn't any indication of this already; the Ivory King is also described as having been ever-merciful in the past.
  • Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He was the highest-ranking knight of his homeland before becoming the king, and his skill sure hasn't dwindled when he fights you.
  • Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: And odd inversion in that he retains his ice powers even after being consumed by the fires, making his combat aesthetics rather jarring when you fight him in the hellhole of a Planet Heck that is the Old Chaos. His Charred Loyce Knights play the trope straight, though, as their armour is visibly charred black and some are equipped with pyromancy gloves.
    • Of course, considering his list of badassery, one possible reason he kept his ice powers is because he didn't get burnt as easily as his knights, where their armor is more black than his, which is a couple shades lighter. Meaning, if he were burning a bit longer, his ice would be replaced by fire.
  • Badass Cape: He has a cape that looks like it's made of wolf fur. This completes his already imposing stature and is representative of being the leader of notorious warriors like Vengarl.
  • BFS: He wields a two-handed sword with one hand, and can infuse it with ice.
  • Big Entrance: Several minutes into the fight with the Charred Loyce Knights, you will hear a thundering noise, and your screen will shake a bit. Two large pillars successively rise to form a massive portal, and from it the Burnt Ivory King slowly walks out of it; things are definitely not looking good for you.
  • Cool Crown: The titular crown resembles a white tiara with a crystal in it.
  • Cool Helmet: His helm has a human face engraved in it, and it's golden, like the rest of his armour plating, though it's toned down due to having been exposed to the Old Chaos' fires for so long.
  • Did You Just Romance Cthulhu?: As if he wasn't badass enough already, he redeemed a Child of Dark, a fragment of the setting's God of Evil, with his love, and ended up Happily Married to her.
  • Disappears into Light: Being a DLC boss, he dissipates into specks of golden light upon defeat, but just like Sir Alonne, killing him while he's in midair will cause him to fall flat on the floor, vanishing into red ashes instead.
  • Easy Level Trick: He can actually be goaded into one of your Loyce Knights' sacrifice animation, which will encase him in ice and render him unable to move, after which he'll simply keel over and die in one hit.
    • This exploit was removed in SOTFS.
  • The Faceless: The Ivory King was noted to have never revealed his face to his subjects.
  • Fallen Hero: The king was once praised as a high ranking knight, and well respected. When you meet him, however, he's been consumed by the dark flames of the Old Chaos, and Alsanna begs you to put him to rest.
  • Flash Step: Some of his lunges inexplicably end up warping him away from one place to another.
  • Fluffy Tamer: After fighting Aava the King's Pet (read: a humongous ice tiger), you might wonder what kinds of monstrosities the king tamed during his lifetime, doubly so when it's stated he owns seven of them, three of which you can actually fight in the content.
  • Flunky Boss: A strange variant in that you get to fight his knights before he himself shows up. Of course, you can limit their numbers by bringing in the Loyce Knights you saved through the DLC, who will help you dispatch the flunkies and sacrifice themselves to seal the gates.
  • The Good King: made even more pronounced by the fact he may be the only example of a good royal in the game. Vendrick stooped to deplorable methods, the Iron King was a cruel hedonist, the Sunken King was a dragon fanatic whose blindness to the utter indifference of Sinh doomed his city, Tseldora was completely insane, Myrtha was a narcissistic (and later literal) monster, and the King of Olaphis backstabbed his best friend because their power difference scared him. Since one of the games questions is “what makes a true king/queen?”, the Ivory King and his selfless attempt to bring order, happiness, and peace to a chaotic land is likely meant to be the answer to that question.
  • Happily Married: Was once this to Alsanna, a Child of Dark capable of creating country-wide blizzards. It didn't last, but only because of the even nastier Eldritch Abomination he dedicated his life to fighting.
  • Hellgate: Built a cathedral over a portal to the Old Chaos. When you fight him, small portals expel Charred Loyce Knights unless you can seal them, and the king himself emerges from a massive portal.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: He fed his soul to the Old Chaos to appease it. When its hunger could not be satiated, the Burnt Ivory King tempered the flame with the entirety of his being. Suffice to say that was only a temporary measure.
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Averted, while the Ivory King was pure, he was still corrupted, just like Artorias and The Old Dragonslayer.
  • Knight in Shining Armor: What he was in life before sacrificing himself to Old Chaos. He was the greatest of the Forossan Knights and even as king he fought for his homeland. He was also a compassionate and chivalrous man who treated Alsanna with love and kindness despite knowing her true nature. The few remaining knights who were not consumed by Old Chaos follow his example.
  • Large and in Charge: He was the ruler of Forossa, and towers over his fellow Loyce Knights, all of which are already two heads taller than you, making him twice the player's height.
  • Laser Blade: Once he powers up his sword, the blade is aesthetically similar to a Soul Greatsword that's constantly ignited.
  • Leitmotif: "Burnt Ivory King".
  • Lightning Bruiser: He's extremely quick on his feet, and can even backflip during the fight. As an Optional Boss, his damage output is also through the roof, and his swordplay is swift enough to leave you no room to breathe.
  • Magic Knight: While his use of Flash Step and ice magic may not be something special, he also created soul-driven golems in the past. Without some stolen Giants' secrets.
  • Mythology Gag: Most of his move set is lifted from False King Allant, just mirrored so that it's lefthanded instead of righthanded.
  • Nice Guy: The Ivory King was an incredibly kindhearted man who sincerely loved Alsanna with all of his heart and cared greatly for his people with no hint of manipulation or ulterior motives.
  • Optional Boss: He's the final enemy you have to defeat if you want to acquire the Crown of the Ivory King, clearing the main questline for that particular DLC.
  • Recurring Element: Due to the Souls series' theme of Eternal Recurrence, he's an all-too-obvious stand-in for Gwyn, Lord of Cinder; a powerful ruler who selflessly sacrificed himself in order to preserve his kingdom, but eventually lost all sense of identity within the inferno and can only be put down to rest by the Player Character. Also, his loyal knights have the exact same role as the Black Knights of Dark Souls, following their liege to the very end and becoming charred for their trouble.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Not only did he start out as a knight, but he also built his throne on the mouth of Old Chaos, to stand as the first line of defense.
  • Screaming Warrior: Each of his strong swings are punctuated with a garbled shout, belying the ferocity of his swordplay.
  • Sword Plant: He can stab his ice-empowered sword into the ground and cause icicles to erupt around him.
  • Sympathy for the Devil: It's implied by Alsanna that he was well aware of her true nature as a fragment of Manus, but willingly chose to comfort and love the embodiment of the creature's fear.
  • Tragic Villain: Whatever it was he tried to do at the Old Chaos, the result wasn't good for him.
  • Universally Beloved Leader: By all this said of him, from either Alsanna or the people of the kingdom, neither they or even any of the lore associated with him NEVER have anything bad to say or regard him in a negative way.

    Alsanna, Silent Oracle 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alsanna_5333.png

"You've granted my one wish..."

A Child of Dark who resides in the Grand Cathedral of Eleum Loyce. She is a frail being, born of a splinter of Dark, and an incarnation of her father's fears. She sought out the Ivory King and his land to anchor her existence, and to smother her fears. She now remains to forever be the heiress to the Ivory King's wishes, and watches over the Old Chaos.


  • An Ice Person: When the Bearer of the Curse first enters Eleum Loyce, she unleashes a shockwave of ice magic while telling them to turn back, and conjures a frigid wind that inhibits their visibility. She dissipates the storm once you agree to help her seal the Old Chaos.
  • Barrier Maiden: Even after her husband succumbed to the Old Chaos's corruption, she still watches over it and minimized its spread by way of freezing the land.
  • Beauty Equals Goodness: She shows no monstrous form like the other Children of Dark, and is Ms. Fanservice instead. However, as Nashandra had a human guise herself that hid her true form, it's unclear if she really possesses no monstrous form or simply doesn't like to show it.
  • Becoming the Mask: See Love Redeems below.
  • Combo Platter Powers: While she never faces the Bearer of the Curse in battle, it's made clear from the various interactions with her that she has several abilities; she has demonstrated the powers of telepathy by communicating with the Bearer as they traverse Eleum Loyce, cryokinesis with her whirlwind that simultaneously froze the kingdom over and blocked the Bearer's progress, and finally, colossal levels of strength and willpower in keeping the entirety of the Old Chaos back from consuming the kingdom.
  • Cool Crown: Her crown looks like it's made of twisted ice.
  • Cryptic Conversation: Averted. Unlike most of the other inhabitants of Drangleic, Alsanna is fairly lucid, clear and refreshingly straightforward in conversation.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: By far the most benevolent of the Children of Dark, at least after the Ivory King's sacrifice. In fact, by preventing the Old Chaos from spreading, she may be helping the world of Dark Souls be a less horrific place. Her boss soul weapon further exemplifies this, being a nefarious-looking twin-bladed sword that HEALS those that are struck by its strong attack.
  • Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: She has very long black hair and snow-white skin. Fittingly enough, she's the most human out of the Children of Dark.
  • Eviler than Thou: She's on the short end of the stick against the Old Chaos' spread, despite being a Child of Dark.
  • Foil: To Nashandra. Both were children of Dark who successfully infiltrated a human kingdom and seduced the king for their own ends. However, Nashandra represented want and desire, and thus corrupted the kingdom from the inside until it all fell down, all for her own selfish desires. Alsanna, on the other hand, represents fear, and sought out a king to protect her, ultimately growing to love him.
  • Get Out!: Throughout the level she uses telepathy to repeatedly tell the Bearer of the Curse to leave.
  • Good Counterpart: She's one to the vanilla game's Big Bad Queen Nashandra, both of them being among the weakest of Manus's fragments. Whereas Nashandra manipulated Vendrick without remorse, Alsanna pulled a Heel–Face Turn when she saw her king's love.
  • Heel–Face Turn: The Ivory King's love for her, even after learning what she really was, caused her to forsake whatever dark mission she was on and try to carry out his last wishes.
  • Humanoid Abomination: She looks completely human, but is one of the Children of Dark, and has immense power over the ice coating the land of Forossa.
  • Irony: She's the Anthropomorphic Personification of Manus's fears, but after her Heel–Face Turn she selflessly decides to stay rooted in one of the most dangerous places in the world to prevent the Old Chaos fom being unleashed, making her one of the bravest characters in the series. One wonders how how brave Manus could be.
  • In Love with the Mark: The mission of the Children of Dark is to seduce powerful beings and use them to devour the world in the darkness of the Abyss. Alsanna kind of forgot about the second bit.
  • Kill the Ones You Love: She laments about lacking the strength to travel into the Old Chaos to put her husband out of his misery, and asks that the Bearer of the Curse do it in her stead.
  • Love Redeems: Alsanna was originally supposed to seduce the Ivory King and spread darkness. She fell in love with him and abandoned her original purpose instead.
  • Mystical Waif: She downplays her strength in comparison to Nashandra, who was said to be the smallest and weakest of Manus' children, but is clearly far, FAR more powerful than she admits and is more than strong enough to keep the Old Chaos at bay.
  • Navel-Deep Neckline: Her robe leaves the front of her body exposed, though the way she's kneeling hides her chest.
  • Power Echoes: Her voice reverberates and echoes even when she's directly speaking to you.
  • Shmuck Bait: She tells the Bearer of the Curse to not enter Aava's boss fog gate. It's best to listen to her. At least without a specific key item.
  • Stripperiffic: Her clothes more-or-less amount to panties and a tattered robe that's open at the front. Unusually for this trope, it serves to emphasise her vulnerability rather than providing fanservice when coupled with her hunched, exhausted pose.
  • Stronger Than They Look: She lacks any features that reveal her true heritage, but she commands some VERY impressive power being able to both hold back the Old Chaos from consuming the entire kingdom of Eleum Loyce, while simultaneously generating powerful freezing winds to block the Bearer of the Curse's progress; it would NOT be far-fetched to assume that she could've done FAR more or have simply just killed the Bearer of the Curse as soon as they arrived.
    • It also wouldn't be far fetched to see her EFFORTLESSLY slaying the Ivory King and the remnants of the Loyce Knights, therefore her refusal to do so is more likely a decision either made out of grief over the situation, or the realization that, should she fail, there will literally be nothing left to stop the Old Chaos.
  • Sympathy for the Devil: Despite only seeking out his kingdom for her own reasons and being a Child of Dark, the Ivory King comforted and loved her, despite knowing what she was.
  • The Unfought: Alsanna, unlike her sisters, appears as a friendly NPC.
  • Waif Prophet: She knows all too well about what she and her sisters are.

    Twiggy Shei 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ojns0rp.png

Armed with a greatbow that is said to have brought down dragons eons ago, Twiggy Shei is a phantom who can accompany you down to the Old Chaos.


  • Beware the Silly Ones: His oddly shaped helm, weird name and prostration gesture all scream silly, and his use of a ranged weapon practically reminds you of The Load that was Lone Hunter Schmidt during the Rotten's fight, but make no mistake: he knows when and where to position himself with his greatbow, deals absurd damage with it, making him on par with straight-up powerhouses like Jester Thomas and Masterless Glencour.
  • Bow and Sword in Accord: He prefers to roll away when engaged up close, but he'll happily whip out an Estoc to chew through any Charred Knights that decide to rush him.
  • Cool Helmet: The obtuse Old Bell helm, which you can find in the DLC.
  • Odd Name Out: The rest of the NPCs have a name that alludes to their roles and abilities. "Twiggy" (thin and angular) seems to just be describing physical appearance.

    The Loyce Knights 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cotik_npc_loyce_knight.png

The Knights of Loyce were devoted guardians of the land of Forossa, and when the time came to seal the Old Chaos, they along with the Ivory King himself, delved valiantly into the depths of chaos, never to return. The few that survived remain in Eleum Loyce, now frozen over, awaiting the call of their master.


  • Badass Army: Most NPCs don't do a lot damage when summoned, even against regular mobs. These remnants of an order of knights steamroll their Evil Counterparts before you even attempt to figure out which Charred Loyce Knight to target.
  • Cool Sword: One knight is armed with the standard Loyce Greatsword they wield in one hand.
  • Distressed Dude: Three of them are held captive in various locations within the DLC. Once rescued, they'll warp back to the Cathedral to await your confrontation with the Burnt Ivory King
  • 11th-Hour Ranger: Once you free them from their confinement, the three Loyce Knights come back to the Grand Cathedral and join up with the one already there, after which they'll drop down along with you to the Old Chaos, which houses the final boss before acquiring the titular crown.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Sealing one of the portals takes out the knight's life. By the end of the fight, if you have sealed all gates with four Loyce Knights in tow, the remaining one will still help you fight his former liege, though he's considerably outmatched.
  • An Ice Person: Their sealing of the gates is visually similar to Alsanna's Eleum Loyce, encasing the portals in solid ice.
  • Knight in Shining Armor: After the trouble you went through to free them, they carry out their duty, as well as Alsanna's wishes', to confront the Old Chaos alongside you, and will gladly sacrifice themselves for it.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: All four of them carry shields alongside their weapons. The two swordsmen fit in better with their Knight in Shining Armor theme.
  • Magic Knight: One of them is equipped with an upsized version of Blue Flame, and regularly throws out powerful sorceries like Soul Spear, Soul Vortex, and Soul Greatsword. And Cast Light.
  • Power Glows: Once they light themselves up in blue flames, you know they've prepared themselves for sealing the portals at the cost of their lives, and there's barely anything that can stop them at that point. The Burnt Ivory King may target them, but at the same time he risks getting caught in an Easy Level Trick which instantly kills him.
  • Sole Survivor: The best possible outcome if you brought in all four knights to the fight, have three sacrificed to the chaos gates and the remaining one staying alive until the Burnt Ivory King dies, in which case he'll stay on standby right before the boss fog gate once you return to the cathedral.
  • The Worf Effect: Despite dominating their fellow Charred Loyce Knights in combat and sealing the hellgates while they're at it, once the Burnt Ivory King shows up, whoever did not sacrifice himself will get sliced apart by his old liege.

    Holy Knight Aurheim 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/holy_knight_aurheim.png

A warrior lying in wait for an ambush within the inner walls of Eleum Loyce, Aurhirem surprises his opponents through the subtle blending of the surroundings.


  • Artificial Stupidity: His illusion can be ruined if the player is moving fast enough to catch a glimpse of him while he transforms. In which case it becomes a case of Paper-Thin Disguise as he's the lone crate moving among several immobile objects.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Has the audacity to do an Honor Bow despite backstabbing you in an underhanded manner.
  • Master of Illusion: He uses the Chameleon Sorcery to ambush unwary players, disguising himself as a prop among the many crates scattered around the area..
  • Troll: It would have been less agitating if he outright mocked you instead.

    Castaway Witch Donna 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vvmc3ue.png

A sorceress of unknown origin, Donna guards the room leading to one of the Loyce Knights held captive in Eleum Loyce.


  • Casting a Shadow: She can launch Dark Orbs and Dark Hails at a steady rate.
  • Combat Pragmatist: A Rampart Soldier can be seen alongside her, and she'll use him to cast more spells at you while you're busy fighting the mook. In addition, if she sees that you're a magic user, she will not hesitate to cast Profound Still to cripple you.

    Hexer Nicholai 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nicholai.png

A cleric who invades you far below the bridge in Eleum Loyce.


  • Affably Evil/Faux Affably Evil: Will bow if you die fighting him.
  • Casting a Shadow: His Dark Dance hex, which unleashes several homing orbs of darkness at you.
  • Combat Pragmatist: He can use Promised Walk of Peace to slow your movement speed down to a crawl, allowing him to sneak in a few offensive miracles in, and he's not above backing away to heal himself. The area where he invades is also home to other spell-casting monsters and several demon rabbits.
  • Easy Level Trick: When he spawns, run back into the elevator to drive him away so you can access the nearby bonfire and use it without fighting him or even having to trigger his appearance anymore.
  • Shock and Awe: Throws high-level lightning miracles at you, namely Sunlight Spear and Splintering Lightning Spear.

    Charred Loyce Knights 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cotik_enemy_charred_loyce_knight.png

All that remains of the Loyce Knights who journeyed into the Old Chaos with their king: mindless automatons of destruction.


  • Clown-Car Grave: If you kill one, he'll just respawn from one of the Hellgates unless they're frozen over. However, take too long and multiple copies will come out.
  • Evil Counterpart: To the Loyce Knights you can bring to help face them.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: All of the knights have shields that block out most attacks once they're raised, sometimes even deflecting your swings. The only way to counter this is, of course, attacking them from behind.
  • Oddly Shaped Sword: One of the knights has a sword that's burnt black and jagged, being what's left of the standard Loyce Greatsword after burning for so long in the Old Chaos.
  • Playing with Fire: One of them wields a Pyromancy Glove and can cast Fire Snake, Great Fireball, Great Combustion and Fire Whip, all of which deal large amounts of damage.
  • Recurring Element: Despite lacking the signature death wail (which has been given to the Alonne Knights) and only appearing for one boss arena, the Charred Loyce Knights take up elements from Dark Souls' Black Knights, who followed their liege all the way to the equivalent of a furnace and lost all sense of purpose and being, along with their fallen leader.
  • Resurrective Immortality: Kill one and he'll respawn a few seconds later from one of the portals unless it's sealed.
  • 20 Bear Asses: Alsanna will reward you with pieces of the Loyce Armor set and eventually her own Soul if you present her with the knights' souls. The souls drop randomly (and items that increase drop rate actually reduce the odds of getting souls since they raise the chance of dropping equipment instead), the knights do eventually stop respawning (meaning you need to burn an ascetic or be summoned in co-op), and you need fifty souls to get all of the rewards.
  • Wolfpack Boss: While they don’t have a health bar, they functionally serve as a warm up boss to the Ivory King, and they are as difficult as many of the game’s hardest bosses.


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