AI 007 - Cordial Intrusion

Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Agreed to have a battle;
For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
Had spoiled his nice new rattle.
Just then flew down a monstrous crow,
As black as a tar-barrel;
Which frightened both the heroes so,
They quite forgot their quarrel.

- Original ditties for the nursery. I guess British people think rattle and quarrel rhyme.

Yes, they had cinderblock in Anor Londo. No, I don't know if it's lore relevant.

This one is going to be about cops. Specifically I'll be outlining the Darkmoon Blade, Blue Sentinel, Way of Blue, and Brotherhood of Blood covenants and how they seem to interrelate. I try to avoid talking about third game stuff in this series because deep waters are still. I do, however, go into stuff around Lothric Kingdom a little bit just to point out how the story really does connect across the games and From really did intentionally design the games the way they did intentionally when they designed them.

Blades of the Darkmoon

The Blades of the Darkmoon are Lordran's secret police. So secret that even a lot of Darkmoon Blades (DmBs) don't realize they're the secret police. The covenant is overseen by Knight Captain/Prince/ess/King/Queen/Pontiff Gwyndolin, last of his name. In what seems like an unusual division of power, the covenant's guidelines and judgements are overseen by Velka, a rogue, seemingly omnipresent (in the mundane spy network sense) deity mostly associated with Carim. It could be that Velka & Gwyndolin share or at one point shared a close bond, as both would seem to be the central authority figures for the Blades.

The most notable mechanical aspect of the covenant is the namesake miracle, which traditionally uses faith to channel sorcery. This is at odds with the traditions of both Velka's church (pardoners use intelligence to channel faith,) the Way of White (faith is faith and excessive thoughtfulness should be distrusted,) pretty much any jutsu-class school of magic, which either prefer INT or a even-ish mix of the two.

In other words, Gwyndolin is a faith-based sorcerer and Velka is an intelligence-based cleric. Both are implied dexterity builds, between Velka's association with rapiers and Gwyndolin's use of the bow.

We don't know much about 'Darkmoon,' either. It's associated with the feminine, of course, and appears purple in color, making it appear closer to a hex (Dark Blade,) than a sorcery (Great Magic Weapon). Astrologically it's represented by what I assume is a waning crescent moon.

Gwyndolin herself uses what appear to be the more common 'sky blue' Moonlight/Ruin-based sorceries, which I can't make sense of beyond something like the DmB miracle actually being a blessing of Velka that Gwyndolin hadn't had the chance to earn. I mean, ten ears would mean ten people found and attacked her since she took up residence in the crypt. I think that, like Princess Venn, it wasn't a case of Gwyndolin lacking the martial skill or talent, but having been born to a station very rarely threatened by violence in a way survivable.

The reason for the Darkmoon being associated with a kind of light-ish purple might indicate the nature of the covenant itself: a union of the light and dark aspects of the Anor and Carimite faiths.

DmBs, like sorcerers, tend to be Dex builds when not casting. Gwyndolin has a magical bow, Oswald [I know he's not a DMB, but he does function as a priest for the Blades, plus Cromwell is gonna tie into all this in the sequel post, whenever that happens] carries Velka's Rapier, and Sirris an Estoc.

Sin falls into two broad categories, PvE and PvP. PvE sins include making an NPC hostile, angering a god (Gwyndolin, Alvina, Priscilla,) or destroying the illusion of Gwynevere. All of these sins can be absolved by Oswald, but the sin of destroying False Gwynevere will immediately be re-incurred after paying for its removal.

Destroying Gwynevere also counts as a PvP sin, and opens the player up to Blue Eye Darkmoon invasions in Anor Londo. Other PvP sins include being indicted by another player (Oswald sells indictments,) being kicked out of a covenant for breaking the rules (abandoning the covenant doesn't count,) or answering Alvina's questions for some reason, regardless of response. PvP sin cannot be absolved, but will be removed point by point by dying to a DmB. Players with PvP sin will appear in the Book of the Guilty.

Finally, we can farm the covenant ranking item, Souvenirs of Reprisal, from the Ariamis Crow People. Presumably this means the Crows could be considered DmBs, but I suspect they respresent some kind of precursor or off-shoot sect, possibly relating more directly to Velka.

Of course, the Blades have been discussed to death elsewhere, so let's move on. In the next few sections I'll be discussing the WoB, Blue Sentinels, and Brotherhood of Blood covenants from the second game.

Oh yay I left my HUD on oh boy

The Way of Blue

The Way of Blue is, I think, the first covenant the player is able to join. Crestfallen Saulden serves as the covenant captain. Saulden is also, as near as I can tell, the first Crestfallen we find in a From game whose condition improves over time, which makes sense. If you've already lost everything and given up you have nothing left but to find something new and get started, right?

Saul's dialogue has a few interesting insights. When he tells us about Heide, and he can see Heide from his perch, he makes the Sentinel covenant sound more lively than it is, and suggests the Venn/Alken gate contraption is locked in the Alken position in his world. He's one of the very few, maybe the only, character to directly mention Firekeepers, and does so in a way that makes it clear that the actual Firekeepers are long gone.

Saulden gives us the 'time is convoluted' spiel, and a part of this involves 'fissures between worlds' that allow things like soapstone messages to cross over. 'Saulden's Fissures,' therefore, is what I call the principle by which items and entities are able to cross over. I don't know if it covers everything from Crystal Lizard despawns to auto-summoning to paintings and mirrors, but I've been operating under the assumption that they're all related to this same 'school' of 'magic.'


Saulden carries the Ring of Steel Protection, associated with Knight King Rendal, Balder in the first game, and Mirrah in the second (Lucatiel and the Looking Glass Knight carry the +1 and +2 versions, LGK is potentially related to Mirrah via Llewellyn,) meaning that Saulden is likely from Mirrah.

Ruin Sentinel, Castle Drangleic

A discussion of stuff specifically related to the covenant follows.

Joining gets the player the Blue Seal ring.Increases HP 3%. "The Way of Blue is not a developed religion. It is a humble prayer that spread naturally amongst those seeking help...When apostles of Blue are invaded by dark spirits, they can receive assistance from masters of other worlds." The ring shows what looks to be an almond-shaped leaf.

Rank 1 nets us the Bloodbite Ring. The bite rings aren't tied directly to Carim in the second game, but do state that all of the bite rings likely come from a common source: a master craftsman who 'clearly knew his trade.' The ring can also be bought from Cromwell (Carim connection) and the +1 version can be found in the Shulva DLC.

Rank 2 yields (running out of synonyms here,) the Hush sorcery, known as Spook in the other games. The Hush variant is linked to the Shadow Knights of Mirrah, who are contrasted with the Official Order that gave us Lucatiel. The Shadow order are described as assassins who 'quietly carry out unspeakable tasks.' The spell can also be found in the Ruin Sentinel arena in the Bastille. Given the name change, I suspect we're meant to assume that Hush is an example of convergent evolution with the Vinheim school, rather than a divergence from it. The Shadow Knights themselves have a crest on their face-masks that matches the crest on the Manikins' shoulder, despite at least some of them having been mercenaries under the employ of Vendrick.

Rank 3 gets us the Blue Tearstone Ring. Besides being thematically appropriate, it also connects to Carim/Caitha. Well, if we want to be logic lords about it was associated with Catarina in the first game, but like I still don't really have a clue with the Profaned Capitol or the Seigward/meyer stuff and how you end up with a Sunbro with weird connections to Caitha, but on the other hand that's basically what we find in Lothric so who fucking knows. The ring features a tear of mourning shed by the goddess for 'those who have lost loved ones.' This ring is also found in Belfry Luna. The red variant is found along the path towards Aldia's Keep, in that gross puddle with the inexplicable white birch tree. It's possible the ring's location has something to do with the schism between Vendrick (heir of Venn) and Aldia (heir of Alken). The red ring has a tear shed for 'the undeserving dead.'

So the first five thousand times I looked at that list it made zero sense to me, but a pattern is finally starting to emerge here: Carim, Mirrah, Olaphis-Venn, with Elana ruling in place of Ivory of Venn.

Blue Sentinels

Joining the covenant gives us the Guardian's Seal, which autosummons to a Blue Apostle's world to protect them from invaders. "The ring is engraved with the crest of the WoB, symbolizing the dignified oath to protect each world's master from dark spirits.' The crest shows an elaborate clover or flower variant of the Blue Seal leaf.

Rank 1 gives the Spirit Tree Shield. This is the version that appears in the third game, and the one carried by the Drakebloods, not the variant carried by Targray. It has terrible stats but allows for spell deflection but seriously has terrible really terrible stats. It weighs 5 units which is 5 units for an unbelievably terrible shield that has like ~58% average reduction because it's terrible. The shield mentions the allegory of Quella. This and other Sentinel rewards are sold by Wellager in NG++ but don't buy it because it's 10,000 souls for a terrible shield. You can get the version Targray has in the Iron Keep at the end of Belfry Sol. It's comparably useless but easy to get.

Rank 2 is Wrath of the Gods, the enigmatic root miracle of Force.

Rank 3 is Bountiful Sunlight, one of Gwynevere's miracles. Passed down through the ages, 'this miracle, once kept by the Lindelt Monastery, was stolen and never recovered.' This is the same description Licia's Soothing Sunlight miracle carries. While I'm glad they dropped the mechanic, it's weird that they went from these being Gwnevere-covenant-exclusive miracles to only being carried by people that stole them. Well, and Wellager, but fuck Wellager he's the Spirit Tree Shield of ghosts he probably stole them himself anyway. It heals 840 HP over 2 minutes according to wikidot which is not impressive but maybe it's a case of stacking it with a mushroom  and a root and a lifegem and the Evil and Wicked Eye effects or something super useful like that. So either get halfway through NG++ or be summoned into and successfully dispatch the invader of another player's world FIVE HUNDRED TIMES and the miracle's yours.

These guys are Blue Sentinels. Or the ones in Heide are, at least. It's implied in the Design Works interview that the Throne Defender was maybe related to them.

Cracked Blue Eye Orb - Sentinel exclusive item. Invade and punish the guilty. They cost 10,000 souls each, but unlike the Spirit Tree Shield are useful. They're dropped by the Old Knights of Heide and the Wicked Eye red phantom Sentinels on NG+.

Token of Fidelity - Shows the depths of the holder's fidelity. Can be used to heal the host during cordial intrusion or used to compete in the Sentinel arena.

Wicked Eye Greatshield - Weird, right? It was originally called the Guardian Shield. It's located in the Gutter. I haven't come to any conclusions about the Gutter yet, but I do know that anything down there is very, very old. The connection with the Sentinels is via the two NG+ red phantom Sentinels (weird, right?). And they carry Blue Eyes, so they're definitely Sentinels.

Finally, and this is a much less solid connection, but the Ruin Sentinels could possibly have represented a precursor line of Sentinels during High Olaphis. These in turn may have been inspired by the Giant Sentinels of Anor Londo, who seem to function as Princess Guards. Even further back we have the painting in the (I think) Red Room of Anor Londo, which shows an extra giant Giant Sentinel against a background of either the Dragon or Chaos War. I'll be discussing them more in a post about golems.

Brotherhood of Blood

I'll probably be discussing these guys in the Targray post, as well as others because they're incredibly important to the plot of the third game, but I wanted to outline some of the relevant stuff.

Cracked Red Eye Orb - 'The residual sins of those who have succumbed to dark temptations are contained in the form of the Cracked Red Eye Orb.' Farmed from BoB Torturers around the arena, as well as the Majula pigs and Fallen Giant salamanders. 

Bloodied Whip - "A tool made for a purpose forbidden by the gods." Gosh I wonder why. Torturer drop. I'm sure there will be an in-depth discussion of blood magic eventually.

Nahr Alma set - 'Those who profess faith in Nahr Alma have rejected all that is this world, and now vow to travel a path stained with blood.'

Curved Twinblade - Rank 1 reward. Weapon from a 'foreign land' that causes bleeding. The blades are more reminiscent of scimitars than katanas, in case anyone's wondering if it was Alonne's. 

Crescent Sickle - Rank 2 reward. Enchanted by magic, but not intended as a weapon, rather it was used as a ceremonial instrument. It looks like a spear stabbing a Darkmoon crescent. Mytha seems to be the source of magic in the kingdom, so I assume this is her doing. The Grave Wardens and flesh golems, also aligned with Mytha, carry similar weapons. I don't get why there's so much Darkmoon symbolism around, unless it's being done in mockery, like 'oh, don't go doing blood magic sez the person that thinks /she's/ the secret and forbidden and magic snake queen of the gods? I'm gonna  make a bunch of razor sharp sickle weapons in honor our proud proletarian heritage and let the waters of Alken flow eternally in the name of the light of the eternally waning moon, how bow dah?'

Scythe of Nahr Alma - Another ceremonial scythe sold by Gren. This one is enchanted with dark, but this is no place for talk of such things. The statue of Nahr Alma is carrying a measure, implying that s/he is a god seeking balance rather than sheer mindless carnage.

Great Scythe - The description makes it seem that the reason the scythe is so revered as a weapon, despite being a terrible weapon when you think about it, is because scythes leech power from the 'fears of those hunted by this fearsome thing.' The hunted being, yknow, those people who generally have cause to be afraid when the scythes and pitchforks come out. Like colonizers or kings. The idea seems to be that certain barely-weapons get sort of mythologized via folk tales that should be more about the people carrying the arms than the arms themselves. The Great Club is another example. In other words, the BoB functions more as a folk religion than the 'official' folk religion of the WoB, even if it is a death cult loyal to an undying mad forbidden waterbearing poisonous snake witch queen enchantress of the dead. with horns.

Great Chaos Fireball - Rank 3 reward. Mentions the Chaos Flame devouring the mother of pyromancy. Mytha has some kind of pyromancy grow operation happening, and Jugo seems to have aligned with her. Aldia, of course, seems to have been an expert on the Chaos Flame himself, although I don't think that's related beyond Al being Mytha's son. It's possible all the pyromancy stuff ties in with the Lost Sinner in some way more than it does the Iron King, himself a likely pyromancer.

A lot of the BoB-related stuff relates to rituals, more than even the much more overtly religious Blue covenants. The only kind of underlying philosophy talks about 'the bitterness of the grudges the holder has accumulated,' and a knowing commitment to forsake 'all that is this world' in pursuit of the Brotherhood's insane objective. Clearly it lines up with with Mytha-era Alken's grudge against...well, everyone, eventually. 

If the Blue Sentinels are the Darkmoon Blades of the second game, it could be that the Brotherhood of Blood are the heirs of the old Warrior of Sunlight faith, which seems to have been buried/abandoned/forgotten by Alken at some point during the rise of the Iron King, maybe as a result of the rise of pyromancy in an echo of the downfall of Sunlight Maggot Solaire. It could even be that as the Venn-aligned Sentinels began to infiltrate the Way of Blue there was a schism, resulting in one faction turning into a kind of 'evil Sunbro' red faction.

Discussion

I'm trying really hard to not talk about the third game. I do need to point out that the WoB seems to be the state religion of Lothric via the Priestess, and that Lothric Priestesses look like DS2 Fire Keepers. Emma, of course, gives us access to the covenant, but the Shrine Handmaiden (via her interactions with Sirris,) seems to think all this 'soppy gossip' about 'cordial intrusion' is a fool's errand, probably because of the loss of Gwyndolin. Carim seems to have switched sides from Blue to White at some point, and the remaining Sentinels would seem to be more or less beseiged by both Sulyvahn and the White, as well as whatever Gertrude/Angelic/Londor/Pilgrim/Kaathe civil war is transpiring.

So that's all a mess, but we at least know where we need to land. As outlined in Prisoner, Carim was allied with Drangleic/Lothric early on, but switched sides to Lordran/Thorolund when the two factions came into conflict. By my reasoning, Carim is in charge of Thorolund, rather than the reverse, but it's unclear if Carim accepts/approves of either Sulyvahn or post-Firelink Aldrich. Probably I could work out an answer but I've already talked about the third game more than I meant to MOVING ON.

Shulva looks to be aligned with Lindelt looks to be aligned with Carim looks to be aligned with Mirrah looks to be aligned with Balder (Mirrah is already fallen in the Cursebearer's time, and Balder had fallen by the Chosen Undead's timeline,) with Lothric coming out the other side, with early Lothric at least partially beholden to Carim (never underestimate Carim). So there you go.

Discussion for real though

Right, so let's start with the Way of Blue. It was a folk religion that probably arose during and as a result of the Iron King's rule. Since then the faith has split into the Brotherhood and Sentinel factions, with the Sentinel faction ultimately loyal to Anor Londo and Olaphis but functionally loyal to 'Light' Mirrah, Shulva, and probably Lindelt-Volgen. These people are going places.

The Brotherhood faction can be thought of as Alken loyalists. With Aldia and Vendrick gone the throne is uncontested, and Mytha has filled the vacuum with what can broadly be thought of as Drang loyalists, as well as Jugo, the Undead Crypt, probably the Rat King, 'Dark' Mirrah, and probably Vendrick in his time. 

Currently my best working theory as to what happens is the Elana-Sentinel-Carim-Lindelt faction seizes power after the Cursebearer takes the throne, and consolidates power in what would eventually be known as Lothric.

Mytha continues to win support to her totally not insane vision of unleashing an invincible army of flaming skeletons to drown Venn in the blood of its own defenders, eventually giving rise to Wolnir as the 'Reject the Throne' Champion who would chase Olaphis/Carim out of Drangleic for good.

In other words, the Sentinels win out in the short term.

The Way of Blue gives the player rewards that specifically help cowards stand against the Brotherhood's onslaught: bleed resistance, defense bonuses, and a spell to help them sneak around. The Sentinels and Brothers, however, receive rewards that clearly mark them for who they are: a red and a blue faction fighting a civil war that's been repeating since Gwyn first linked the Fire. The main difference is that the war has happened so many times that everything is beginning to 'twist,' yes as in 'twisted souls,' with each side coming up with different red and blue components, like Vendrick the Red's capacity for scholarship and reflection, or the Sentinels' allegiance to Elana because of her title (of Olaphis,) rather than who she actually is (a child of Manus).

I feel a lot safer making the connection between the Pus of Man/Lothric Wyverns and the 'clandestine rituals' of Shulva, specifically the Imperfect and those pain in the ass immune-to-weapons ghost soldiers.

Also, if you're wondering, yes the reason there are no pictures of the DmB miracle is because I didn't want to farm ears.