SPOILERS AHEAD, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
Lordran, once the land of the Gods and a mighty kingdom barring the former fact, now just another fallen kingdom plagued by the Undead. While the city of the Gods, Anor Londo, was a goal that many adventurers sought, none succeeded gaining access. With the Hollow Undead, darkened creatures, roaming Black Knights that killed any they crossed paths with, and worse, the only real draw was the prophecy of the Undead. This prophecy was passed on from generation, to generation of the undead, and by all accounts, the most accepted version of the tale goes as such.
"Thou who art Undead, art chosen…
…In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords…
…When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know."
…In thine exodus from the Undead Asylum, maketh pilgrimage to the land of Ancient Lords…
…When thou ringeth the Bell of Awakening, the fate of the Undead thou shalt know."
Of course, this drove those cursed with the Darksign, that which brands the undead, into believing that the mentioned fate of the Undead was, in fact, a way to remove the Darksign and undo the undead curse. Hope is powerful, but when misplaced, can cause great damage and set into motion events unfathomable. One such knight, an Undead whose name was never revealed nor known, freed a trapped Undead in the Asylum, in belief that he may, in fact, be the Chosen Undead that would see this prophecy through to the end. But he could not guide the Undead, as he was struck down before meeting up with the freed Undead, and could only pass along the prophecy as his dying words.
The dying words of this unnamed knight, passed on to the Undead soul recently freed, would set the course of events that would lead to the death of the surviving Gods that had not fled, damning of the First Flame, and ascent of the Age of Dark. The Chosen Undead killed his way across Lordran, using up the value of every sane Undead he came across before killing them completely. But, as he learned and accomplished, two Bells of Awakening must be rang, and two Bells of Awakening did he ring. The way to Anor Londo, Legendary City of the Gods and throne of the Lord of Sunlight, Gwyn. Slaying the guardians of the realm, Ornstein and Smough, and receiving the Lordvessel from the Daughter of Gwyn, Gwynevere. The trials up to this point killed any remaining faith the Chosen had in the Gods, and promptly struck down the goddess, finding her an illusion. He hunted down the one who maintained the Illusion, and slew him as well, forever earning the ire of both the Darkmoon, who's patron he slew, and the Princess Guard, who were left without their patron as well.
He next descended into the remains of New Londo, drowned to seal away the Darkwraiths and their corrupted Four Kings, striking all of them down in equal measure. He ignored the words that lingered from the banished illusion, as he did not trust this so called King Seeker. Finding his way barred by the Abyss, he instead turned to the grave of the Abysswalker, but before he could reach the grave, found himself dragged back in time. What happened there, no one knows, but he came back in the even greater belief that the Gods were not only incompetent but fools as well. Slaying Sif and claiming a ring that allowed him to walk in the pure Abyss, he returned to New Londo and descended, striking down the Four Kings with Fire born of Pyromancy, and Steel born of the finest blacksmiths he could find. He met the Darkstalker Kaathe, who spoke to him the history as the creature would have him believe it. The Chosen did not trust either Kaathe, or this Frampt, but the art of Lifedrain was a temptation too great, and sided with him, for now.
Upon placing the Lordvessel, the Chosen was given the task of slaying Nito, God of Death, the last known dragon, mad Seath the Scaleless, the origin of all daemons, the Bed of Chaos. He had one part already, the Four Kings shard of the Lord Soul, and that left three. His disdain for the Gods drove him to hunt Nito first, and along the way garnered the Rite of Kindling, a powerful ability that let him cause the Bonfires that served as home for the Chosen Undead. Trapped within the Catacombs he found two scoundrels, one treacherous, the other useful. He murdered the traitor without any waste of time, but the other he offered a choice, travel with him and serve as a companion, or be left behind. The rogue chose to travel with the Chosen Undead, lending bow and piercing blade to the brute force of the Chosen's Pyromancy and combination of Heavy armor, greatshield, and greatsword. Nito fell to the Chosen Undead, and as did the Bed of Chaos and Seath, in time.
His quest left a trail of death and destruction, those he could not drain of their Humanity were cut down and left behind. The only survivor was the Fair Lady, who's presence was not noticed by the Chosen, and his companion. All others fell, his sword wreathed in a chaotic fire fueled by the humanity he stole, his greatshield and armor making him unshakable, and his Pyromancy was such that even Quelana, Daughter of Chaos. had no more to teach him before her death. Kaathe, after the Chosen opened the way, dispatched him to slay Gwyn, and leave the Fire to die. Slaying the Black Knights in the Kiln, he eventually arrived at the Lord of Cinders resting place, the mad god Gwyn. The fight was long, but in the end, a Lord of Cinders pales in comparison to the burning power of the Dark Lord ascending. He was struck down, the fire left to die, and the first Dark Lord rose to power, and both Kaathe, and oddly Frampt, as well as their compatriots were ready to serve.
The Dark Lord banished all of them, and those who resisted were cut down. The Chosen, now Dark Lord, had no use for such creatures who schemed to come out victorious no matter what. Only his companion remained as he ascended to the darkened Anor Londo, claiming it as his own city, and started amassing his own army of Knights. But the rest of the surviving Kingdoms noted the death of Fire and the ascent of Dark, and not all of them were so keen to simply lay down and accept this. Thorolund, in particular, continued trying to find the Rite, in the hopes of lighting a large enough fire in their kingdom to beat back the Dark. The Dark brought powerful creatures with it, empowering the Darkwraiths that acted now as the Dark Lords elite warriors to act with impunity. But Undead survive in Lordran still, despite this, some the survivors of the broken Covenants, others just wanderers and mercenaries who were trapped with the ascent of Dark. Fate will conspire to bring down this Dark Lord, as do the gods that fled, but success and a revolution of the Age of Fire, or failure or deliberate avoidance of returning the Age of Fire, is unknown and depends on those who stand up and walk forth.
