open/close all folders
Main Characters
The Lampbearer
The Lampbearer
A revenant found bearing the Umbral Lamp, believed by some to be the sole hope of Mournstead to seal away the demon god Adyr once more.
- The Chosen One: Believed to be so by many of the NPCs, often citing that the Umbral Lamp chose them for a reason.
- I'm Dying, Please Take My MacGuffin: The Lampbearer did not find the Umbral Lamp themselves. Rather, it was thrown into the bowels of the Defiled Sepulchre by a previous Dark Crusader just before he was killed and decapitated by the Lightreaper, where it landed next to the Lampbearer's corpse and resurrected them.
The Holy Church of Orius
Orius
The being worshipped as god by the Church of Orius and the Hallowed Sentinels.
- Blood Magic: The casting of Orius’s holy spell seems to require blood as a major ingredient, rather odd for a God of Good. To be fair though, going by item descriptions imply cutting one hand or drawing a small amount is sufficient for most spells. As his followers grew more fanatic the spilling of blood became more extreme, however.
- Good Counterpart: Is styled as one compared to the Demon God Adyr. Though calling Orius good might be a stretch ...
- The Ghost: Probably due to his nature as a God but Orius is never seen directly in the game itself. The radiant light seen in the Radiant Ending that obliterates the Lampbearer might actually be him or at least a manifestation of him.
Dark Crusaders
Exacter Dunmire
An experienced Exacter of the Holy Church of Orius who was sent by the Council of Overseers to Mournstead to lead his fellow Dark Crusaders against Adyr's forces and to investigate the corruption of the Hallowed Sentinels in order to find proof of their suspected heresy.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: His interest in the Umbral Realm and search for knowledge ultimately lead to his downfall. While he manages to find the knowledge he seeks and meet the Putrid Mother, his encounter with her drives him insane. Once the player reaches him in the Mother's Lull he has already turned into a mad shell of his former self.
- The Leader: This appears to be his role as an Exacter to his fellow Dark Crusaders, guiding them on their mission. Also he is the one that bestows the boon upon the protagonist in the intro and gives hints on where to go next at the beginning of the game.
Paladin Isaac
A Paladin of the Dark Crusaders and the Lampbearer in the Opening Cinematic. He was sent to Mournstead alongside Exacter Dunmire and Harrower Dervla to stop the Rhogar Invasion. Unfortunately, he was not able to carry out his mission as he met his end at the hands of the Lightreaper, though not before tossing his lamp into nearby cave where it would resurrect the protagonist.
- Legacy Character: He was the last Lampbearer sent to Mournstead before the events of the game and bestows his role and mission upon the protagonist in his final moments.
- Not Too Dead to Save the Day: Isaac's death coincides with the player inheriting his Umbral Lantern and becoming the Lampbearer. Following through on his quest though allows the player to summon him for the final Lightreaper boss fight.
Harrower Dervla, The Pledged Knight
"Another unfortunate made a slave to unceasing hunger. I pity you. But as bleak as this refuge may be, it is our refuge nonetheless..."
A former high-ranking Dark Crusader who came to Mournstead alongside Exacter Dunmire and Paladin Isaac but eventually betrayed their mission. Dunmire tasks the Lampbearer with finding her and bringing her to justice for her betrayal. Her motives, however, turn out to be more complicated than Dunmire makes them appear.
- Fallen Hero: At least from the perspective of her fellow Dark Crusaders. The once pledged knight became increasingly disillusioned, plagued by doubt and regret over her choices and the cause of the Dark Crusaders as a whole. When she finally discovered a new purpose after meeting the Child Martyr in the depths of the Sunless Skein, she left her mission and faith behind and instead made a promise to always protect the boy, even from her former comrades.
The Hallowed Sentinels
Judge Cleric, the Radiant Sentinel
Judge Cleric, the Radiant Sentinel / Iselle
'"I will incinerate your soul with holy fire for this profanation... lowly blasphemer!"
One of the three Judges that banished Adyr and the leader of the Hallowed Sentinels. A long time ago, she was Iselle, a devote follower of Adyr before she turned against him.
- Climax Boss: She is heavily built up throughout the game as the demigod-like leader of one of the game's largest factions and one that was strong enough to help imprison the demon god Adyr. Once the player finally encounters her in battle she definitely lives up to that description.
- Final Boss: Of the game's Inferno Ending.
Pieta, She of Blessed Renewal
Pieta, She of Blessed Renewal / Elianne, The Starved
"Oh, Holy Orius by your Radiance grant me the strength to continue to endure all these dark days, to lay bare the path to salvation for my wayward brothers and sisters so we may walk it together and to strike down all those who would see our will defied."
Pieta is the first Colossal Boss of the game that stands in the player's way right before reaching the hub area. After being defeated she is reborn and acts as an NPC that upgrades the player's healing item.
- The Ace: The girl who was named Pieta after being found in an orphanage by the Hallowed Sentinels turned out to have incredible powers both as a healer and as a warrior that instilled hope in her comrades during their fight against the Rhogar. Due to her powers and her angelic appearance with four wings she was styled as a herald of the light and it was told she was born directly of Orius' holy light itself. Her real origins and reason for existence are eventually revealed to be far more sinister.
- Wakeup Call Boss: Pieta is the first major boss of the game that needs to be defeated in order to progress and proves to be far more of a challenge than anything before her. While her moves are fairly predictable, she has a variety of attacks and spells and more than one phase. As the protagonist is not very strong at this point in the game, this fight is a good skill check that forces the player to really learn her patterns.
Tancred, Master of Castigations
Tancred, Master of Castigations & Reinhold the Immured
A pair of high-ranking Hallowed Sentinels who are encountered as a boss in the lowest level of the Tower of Penance.
- Sharing a Body: While it initially seems that they are just one person with a split personality, item descriptions in the game imply that Tancred and Reinhold are actual brothers that share the same body, somehow.
Rhogar Forces
Adyr
Adyr, the Tyrant Demon God/ Adyr, Bereft Exile
"And now, after all the time mankind have had to shape their own destiny, see what they have made of it: war, greed, hatred, suffering, chaos... They believed they were capable of guiding themselves, but have been proven sorely mistaken. Mankind needs me, now more than ever."
The ancient ruler of Mournstead, imprisoned long ago by the Judges. He has sent his demonic hordes to the land for the purpose of corrupting the beacons that keep him bound so that he may rule over humanity once again.
- Big Bad: The ruler of the demonic forces the Lampbearer must face across the game.
- Cutscene Boss: He is built up throughout both games as the main antagonist and a powerful demon god but once the player actually faces him at the end, not only are you fighting his slaves instead who are more of a hassle than anything else, he himself is easily defeated in a cutscene afterwards.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The Lightreaper was created by stealing an Umbral parasite and creating a Rhogar around it. Despite the necessity of such an action, Adyr clearly is unhappy with utilizing anything Umbral to accomplish goals. Considering what happens in the Umbral ending, this is not without reason.
- God of Evil: Certainly painted as this, being called a "tyrant demon god" by the game's opening narration. The truth may be a bit more complicated.
- Hypocrite: He talks a good game and isn’t wrong about how terrible the state of the world is in, especially the Hallowed Sentinels. That said his plan to fix this required releasing the Rhogar upon the populace who infect and kill indiscriminately, his willing followers cut off people’s hands and nail them to walls, and said followers also employ Social Darwinistic views not too dissimilar to the Hallowed Sentinels. All of which makes his arguments rather moot.
- Final Boss: Of the game's default path, being necessary for the Radiant ending.
The Lightreaper
"Give me that lamp!"
A particularly hideous and dangerous Rhogar riding a winged dragon-like creature that hunts the Lampbearers.
- Defeating the Undefeatable: Lampbearers are functionally immortal thanks to their lamps. The Lightreaper has nevertheless hunted down and slaughtered countless of them, pushing them to the point that they choose lasting death over continuing to be his prey.
- The Dragon: Is this to Adyr and the Rhogar Invasion as the most dangerous foe for the Lampbearer that ambushes the protagonist repeatedly throughout his journey. He evens rides a three-headed dragon-like creature that spits fire.
- Expy: Of the Nazgûl from The Lord of the Rings. His design is very reminiscent of the ringwraiths, he is the top enforcer of an evil overlord and even rides a dragon-like creature.
- Also one of The Pursuer from Dark Souls II being a recurring boss who gives you an option to defeat him before his final bossfight encounter.
Umbral Denizens
Molhu
An old Nohuta High Priest residing in Skyrest Bridge that acts as a merchant for everything that is Umbral-related as well as Boss items. As a being of Umbral he can only be seen and interacted with in the Umbral Realm.
- Affably Evil: He appears to be a gentle old creature and supports the Lampbearer in his quest but in reality he is a devote follower of the Putrid Mother who wants the protagonist's help in tearing down the veil that separates the living realm from Umbral and by doing so dooming the entire living world. Additionally, there is his involvement in Elianne's creation and the countless human experiments he conducted that resulted in many deaths.
- Last of His Kind: He is the last known member of an ancient race called the 'Nohuta'.
- Walking Spoiler: Most of his role is directly tied to the Umbral Ending and the mysterious origins of Pieta.
The Putrid Mother
An absolutely nightmarish abomination hidden deep in the Umbral realm, the Putrid Mother is the main figurehead of the Umbral ending.
- Eldritch Abomination: Oh yes. She can best be described as an absolutely titanic mass of eyes and maws.
- The End of the World as We Know It: The Umbral ending consists of Axiom and Umbral being merged, and it's implied that she consumes everything afterwards.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Hidden away behind a well that leads into the deepest parts of the Umbral realm.
The Child Martyr
The Child Martyr / The Unbroken Promise
A boy who has a particularly strong connection to the Umbral Realm and Umbral Magic. Because of this he is subjected to various experiments by the Hallowed Sentinels, imprisoned in the deepest parts of the Revelations Depths and forced to act as a sort of human seal to prevent the Putrid Mother from crossing over into the mortal realm of Axiom.- Ambiguous Situation: Who exactly he was or why he has this special connection with the Umbral Realm is never explained.
- Expy: He is a very clear reference to Prince Lothric from Dark Souls III. Both are bound to a horrible fate they never wanted by external forces, both are physically weak but skilled in using magic and both revive the knight that is protecting them to become the second phase of their boss fights.
- Facial Horror: The hidden, lower half of his face is hideously deformed with most of the flesh missing below the mouth, possibly as a result of the experiments performed on him or his connection to Umbral.
