#rats #darksouls #lore a exhaustive history of the rats across the fromsoft games where i mix up the names vanguard and authority when talking about the infamous rat themed boss but a fun video nonetheless
Additional lore on the giga-rat in the depths: My guess is that it was a normal-sized rat, and grew to a huge size due to feeding on an endless supply of meat that the butcher throws down the chimney hole. A mutually beneficial relationship: food for the gigarat, and a handy garbage disposal system for the chef. Also, if you look carefully, there's a battleaxe sticking out of its eye. Combining that with the spider shield found directly above, it suggests that a character of starting class Bandit became a recent meal.
garbage disposal? I was under the impression the chefs existed specifically to feed the rat, hence why they pyromancer is scared of becoming "her next meal" referring to the giant rat
@@ennayanne That's a really fascinating hypothesis I hadn't considered. I figured that the two butchers were female, or alternatively Maneater Mildred was the head chef, and the cooks were preparing steaks for her. I can't think of a consistent lore reason as to why this collection of butcher/chef cultists would be huddled in a sewer delicately preparing prime steaks for an angry overgrown mouse but I guess stranger things have happened in Lordran.
@@ianwilliams2632Rat King really had a terrific voice actor. I'm not just saying this either. I even looked him up and it's an English actor name of Steven Pacey
It was really fun to hide/lurk and see how people would get hurt by your npcs and traps, but it was also fun to try to get through them at high speed! I can't believe this idea was tossed out. Screw finding the stones for it though!
The royal rat covenant is one of the coolest coventants in all of souls. The idea of hosting in a world, and setting up traps while teaming up with npcs seems so cool. Its a same I only started playing it last year and the games ben rather dead for me to do that :/
When Ds2 first came out that is ALL I did, nobody really knew the mechanics so it was incredible to sneak up on noobs and backstab then 😂 Everybody would just permablock too (hangover from ds1 maybe) so I got a lot of free kills with the "new" guard break
@@trooper7160 Same here, I spent the most time playing multi-player in DS2 out of any fromsoft game. I miss how balanced and varied it was! I feel like the chances of a remake/remaster is very low though.
It's an amusing thought that the Rat King is so pissed at humans over breaking their "promise" when what he had probably got was a promise from 1 singular tribe's chief, and that particular tribe probably honored it, it's just that Humanity is very much not a singular obelisk of a civilization like the Rats seem to be.
Regarding DS3's Embers: they're essentially Unkindled Humanity. They're the same shape as the Humanity sprites in DS1 but, well, an Ember. It makes sense rats drop those just like they did Humanity. Because Embers ARE Humanity.
@@TheHonoredMadmanI know it's been a while, but I have a feeling you never got to read this. It's not especially important, but still: I believe I expanded at length before on my theory on who made the covenant with the Rat King; namely, it being the Sunken King. However, you are right; the theory should account for the existence of rats elsewhere, including in Lordran. Let us begin: The first thing we must note is that it is extremely unlikely for the Rat King to be the ruler of all ratkind. Why? Three reasons: 1. Humans are not unified. If rats are as prolific as we are and moreso, then it is unlikely they consist of exactly one civilisation. 2. The vast distance between Lordran and Drangleic. Whilst it is true the convergence would make the two continents closer together, there remains a vast stretch of ocean between them, insurmountable to most of ratkind. They could, perhaps, find their way through the ships of various expeditions, but keeping contact with the Rat King back in Drangleic would be near impossible. 3. The administration of rats in Dark Souls 1. What administration, you might ask? In one particular junction, three massive rats gather round a Channeler. Smaller rats hide in boxes and in corners, guarding the meeting. Once you enter, the Channeller immediately strengthens his large retinue, bidding them attack with his dance. In the past, one would've assumed the Channeller was the one controlling this horde. But as we now know, rats are perfectly sentient. This was an arrangement. Does this council of three follow the massive rat above? Or do they conduct affairs in his stead? Is he their Rat King, or a dangerous, hungry enforcer of their will? Who can say? But then, there is the even greater question: Why entertain the notion of allying with a Channeller? Are they not disgusted by humans? Well.... Whoever said Channellers were ever human? Have you ever had the chance to look under those curious masks? I suspect the rats likely know as much as we do about what is behind it. Nothing. All they see, all they need, is an ally.... To pacify the terrible beast beneath. The Gaping Dragon. _ This would not be the last time rats would create an arrangement with outsiders. You've mentioned the Gyrm, but let us take a visit to Irithyll Dungeon. The rats aren't hiding; they're wandering freely through the cells after the Giant. They are not attacked, nor do they attack; here, they are among friends. The Jailers. Most people would say the Jailers formerly Handmaidens of the Profaned Capital, are human, and while there is room to doubt that( look at them!), I don't think it would matter much. The Jailers may be human, but their greatest joy is human screams. So what if it comes from a rat chowing down live, fresh meat? _ The Royal Rat Authority is unlikely to have been a " pet" of his master, if only because his name implies a much more important role. Doglike or not, all rats run on four paws, and all are equal before the eyes of his grace, the Rat King. No. I believe( and it saddens me to say this) that the loyal guard has gone mad. Watch him move. Look at him killing his own soldiers by accident. His face, sick. His tongue, rolling out with no support. Half-blind. Half-dead. Like a sick puppy. Before, he may have been a formidable knight for his king. Now... He serves. He still serves, as well as he can. As well as he can still understand.
"In fact, the Giant probably stomps shit into a fine soup-like mush, perfect for the rats to eat." I'm laughing so hard at this "tidbit" you threw in 😂 funny af
This sort of quirky unexpected subject is just what I always crave in Souls lore. You never know what could be relevant, in the most bizarre ways. Thank you, enjoying this a lot.
Just in case, here is a copy: I believe I expanded at length before on my theory on who made the covenant with the Rat King; namely, it being the Sunken King. However, you are right; the theory should account for the existence of rats elsewhere, including in Lordran. Let us begin: The first thing we must note is that it is extremely unlikely for the Rat King to be the ruler of all ratkind. Why? Three reasons: 1. Humans are not unified. If rats are as prolific as we are and moreso, then it is unlikely they consist of exactly one civilisation. 2. The vast distance between Lordran and Drangleic. Whilst it is true the convergence would make the two continents closer together, there remains a vast stretch of ocean between them, insurmountable to most of ratkind. They could, perhaps, find their way through the ships of various expeditions, but keeping contact with the Rat King back in Drangleic would be near impossible. 3. The administration of rats in Dark Souls 1. What administration, you might ask? In one particular junction, three massive rats gather round a Channeler. Smaller rats hide in boxes and in corners, guarding the meeting. Once you enter, the Channeller immediately strengthens his large retinue, bidding them attack with his dance. In the past, one would've assumed the Channeller was the one controlling this horde. But as we now know, rats are perfectly sentient. This was an arrangement. Does this council of three follow the massive rat above? Or do they conduct affairs in his stead? Is he their Rat King, or a dangerous, hungry enforcer of their will? Who can say? But then, there is the even greater question: Why entertain the notion of allying with a Channeller? Are they not disgusted by humans? Well.... Whoever said Channellers were ever human? Have you ever had the chance to look under that curious mask? I suspect the rats likely know as much as we do about what is behind it. Nothing. All they see, all they need, is an ally.... To pacify the terrible beast beneath. The Gaping Dragon. _ This would not be the last time rats would create an arrangement with outsiders. You've mentioned the Gyrm, but let us take a visit to Irithyll Dungeon. The rats aren't hiding; they're wandering freely through the cells after the Giant. Two massive ones in particular wait for you before you enter the main hall, filled with a congregation of Jailers, going round and round. These two are likely the parents, and rulers, of a significant portion of their kind here. They are not attacked by the Jailers, nor do they attack; here, they are among friends. Most people would say the Jailers formerly Handmaidens of the Profaned Capital, are human, and while there is room to doubt that( look at them!), I don't think it would matter much. The Jailers may be human, but their greatest joy is human screams. So what if it comes from a rat chowing down live, fresh meat? It would simply count as another, more creative form of torture. And one that cost much less, too. I imagine it did wonders for questioning. Sulyvahn was indeed always a clever bastard. _ The Royal Rat Authority is unlikely to have been a " pet" of his master, if only because his name implies a much more important role. Doglike or not, all rats run on four paws, and all are equal before the eyes of his grace, the Rat King. No. I believe( and it saddens me to say this) that the loyal guard has gone mad. Watch him move. Look at him killing his own soldiers by accident. His face, sick. His tongue, rolling out with no support. Half-blind. Half-dead. Like a sick puppy. Before, he may have been a formidable knight for his king. Now... He serves. He still serves, as well as he can. As well as he can still understand.
it makes me sad that the Dark Souls series is done. Not because it nesicarilly needs more sequels, but because when it came to feedback from Dark Souls 2, they seemed to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Thanks for talking about this underated lore that could've been expanded on.
@@FumblsTheSniper What are you talking about? They just made a sick sequel, it's even on PC and Xbox! Weird choice to make the protagonist the doll's little brother.
yeah its really sad to me. honestly trying to play ds2 is mostly suffering for me, i really wish they’d kept some of the more creative aspects of it around instead of making ds3 just ds1-2
The H.P. Lovecraft story "Dreams in the Witch House" had this man-rat-demon hybrid called Brown Jenkin, who had a brown furry body, and hands on his fore and hind legs and a rat-like human face. He was the familiar of the titular witch of the story. I always thought the rats in Dark Souls were something like that. Some sort of demon or less than human hybrid creature. Maybe it eats humanity to become more human.
I definitely agree. And i gotta admit i hadnt thought of that connection before about them rating humanity and by dsrk souls 2 theyre in fact depicted as more humanlike so i wonder if that was intentional, either way this is a great insight
@@stickamateur you are both correct. The cat Lovecraft had when he was a child and the cat of the protagonist of "Rats in the walls" had the same name.
feel like getting 1/4th of ur subscribers in views in 6 hours is impressive for a small channel, especially when it’s not clout chasing the newest game(s). keep up the good work, madman. we’ll be here
Thats actually incredible about the rat/gyrm alliance and is way more nice than I expected anything in DS2 could be. 17:26 wow. i was trying to find this shot of the rat working out in his cage after loving it the first time I saw that movie. I tried flicking through it years later but must have missed it as I convinced myself I had imagined it in my greened out state. Your use of that shot today confirmed something I had doubted; there WAS a janky effect of Splinter learning
In Elden Ring the Rat Spirit Ashes are one of if not the only Spirit Ashes picked up off the ground in the overworld instead of somewhere underground or given be an NPC.
The rats are a reference to "The Rhizome" from D+G's 1000 Plateaus; there's a church of rats in Pynchon's "V.", converted by a character called Father Fairing. It's the same chapter where Benny Profane hunts alligators in the sewer (Gaping Dragon).
Hey man I just want to say I love your analysis, especially the way you do examined environmental storytelling. You made a lot of connections I would have never even thought twice about, and said a lot of interesting things about a topic that could have just been a summary of "this item description says this" or "this NPC says this" and I really dig that. Loved the video
Dude I have been waiting literally months to find a way to send you money, please get that ko-fi link on your channel page asap! Love your work, your unique takes and your smooth delivery. Makes my day to see you pop up on my feed.
I was a little bummed that there were no rats in Dark Souls 3 that had the humanity they ate “go wild” a la the Pus of Man. On the other hand, the sheer genocide Gael must’ve undertaken to collect all those tiny pieces of the Dark Soul back from rats must’ve been obnoxious.
Rats and similar rodents can actually pop their eyes out of their head quite a bit, they sometimes do this of their own accord in a behavior known as "boggling". The first time I saw a pet do this it freaked me out. Anyhow yeah, that undead rat definitely has its eye sticking out a bit more permanently.
Would be cool to get lore discussing about the natural and unnatural fauna of the Dark Souls series. Who are mythical beasts, who are animals, what the hell are the bush people?
Unlike humanities, Runes are contemporaneous to all life. As such, it is no special surprise to find some of them in non-human enemies. That said, such a piece was not likely gained by them during the Shattering, but stolen. It seems rats here are clever enough to open things like chests, at least.
I feel the rat king is a sadly lost opportunity, with the ability to maintain the relations of above and below ground, it really could’ve fitted the “what makes a king” theme, allowing us to instead summon the Allies across the game radahn style for throne watcher and defender, imagine watching a few rats show up, with a speech on valor or whatever “kill these filthy imposters” or something, as if the final boss really did show off everyone you help
It would be cool if you could summon The Rat King and defeat Nashandra with him as a: "You controlled your monster to kill us, take the revenge of the rat kind" and would be amazing if depending on the character you summons on a Fromsoft game you get a different ending
My opinion on the rat-wolf hybrid species existing is that it was a similar relationship between Homo-Sapiens and Neanderthals. Where the later would hunt humans like game when they were within their territory, and often outside of it as well. If a wolf happened into the depths and a well fed rat liked what he saw... well whose to say it wasn't the same result as when an ancient Neanderthal man laid eyes upon a female of the Homo-Sapiens species. I would say as lords of the underworld the rats would be able to make any other denizen or trespasser their victim, asset, or ally if they so choose.
