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Hey all! And welcome to my Dark Souls Lore series, I'm Dave Klein, and today we're gonna
talk about Nito. I wanted to start with him specifically, because I feel like there's
not much out there about Nito, and a lot of it's very speculation-based. There are some
really cool insights brought together by the Dark Souls community I wanted to shine some
light on, and bring to the forefront. So, what we're gonna do here is: Talk about all
of the facts. What we know, what we don't know. Talk about some of the prevalent theories
out there. And, based on that, I'll throw out my own conclusions and thoughts. If you
want to skip around, there are links in the description. With that said, let's get started!
"Nito, the first of the dead... Nito unleashed a miasma of death and disease."
Who is Nito and what does Nito want? Well, first let us take a look at what we do know.
We know that Nito was the first of the dead. This would imply that, when fire came, which
brought life and death, and "disparity", Nito was the first living being to die. When the
Lord Souls presented themselves, somehow this being, Nito, was able to gain one of them,
and use this to rise to power. (OR. Nito was already dead, or death itself)
Nito's purpose seems to be a duel purpose of kindling (and growing) the bonfires, as
well as to continue the spread of disease and death. Remember, without fire, there is
no disparity, and therefore no death. So, it would be in Nito's best interest to continue
the Age of Fire. Now, first, let's discuss his purpose of spreading disease and death,
which is ever-present in the Gravelord Servant covenant.
When players find Nito, if searching to become a Gravelord Servant, they will find a slumbering
Nito. By joining the Gravelord coveneant, players will be given a number of useful items
that all Gravelord servants receive: The Gravelord Sword and the Gravelord Sword Dance. So what,
are these items, and what are their purpose? Why is Nito giving these to us?
Well, the Gravelord Sword is fairly straightforward. According to its item description, it is a
"Sword wielded only by servants of Gravelord Nito, the first of the dead. Crafted from
the bones of the fallen. The miasma of death exudes from the sword, a veritable toxin to
any living being." -- So, it would seem the purpose of this sword is for killing anything
living. According to the Gravelord Sword Dance description, "Nito sleeps deep within the
Giant Catacombs, quietly overseeing all death, and waiting for his servants to usher in the
Eye of Death." And -- according to the Eye of Death Description, "The dreadful Eyes of
Death spread disaster across neighboring worlds. Phantoms lured to the host world may end up
as victims, allowing the Eyes of Death to multiply, and leading to further proliferation
of bane."
Nito's covenant is essentially putting players into his purpose of causing death. If you
think of Nito as the lord of death, and the catacombs as his dominion, this would make
sense. Nito wants to grow his empire, and therefore administers his agents to do his
dirty work for him. According to Nito's Lord Soul, "Gravelord Nito administers the death
of all manner of beings. The power of his soul is so great that it satiates the Lordvessel,
despite the fact that much of its energy had already been offered to death." So, again,
his soul description would indicate that his single track goal is to cause as much death
as possible.
So, why do we know Nito is trying to kindle fires? There are a number of item descriptions
that support this notion, and also major props to Reddit user "MSPainting" for throwing out
the big whammy which I'll get to.
Let's first take a look at the any of Pinwheel's mask descriptions. "One of the three masks
of the Pinwheel, the necromancer who stole the power of the Gravelord, and reigns over
the Catacombs." Once you defeat Pinwheel, you receive The Rite of Kindling -- indicating
this must be Nito's power. The Rite of Kindling description reads: "This secret rite allows
bonfires to be bolstered further with Kindling, so that even more Estus can be collected.
Kindling was a sacred rite passed down among clerics, but all Undead can imitate the process
in the same manner that they restore their Hollowing with humanity. How peculiar that
humans had found little use for humanity until they turned Undead."
So, it would seem that for some reason, Nito has been actually assisting in the kindling
and spread of bonfires. To further prove this, Reddit user "MSPainting" points out that if
you take a close look at Nito while attacking him... he has an aura of humanity around him.
This is the same aura we see around a humanity sprite, and the exact same aura we see around
the Abyss ghosts in the DLC who all carry humanity. Nito has so much humanity, you can
abyss' spell. Manus' powers come from his humanity gone wild, making these similarities
worth pointing out. Yet -- he's still dead. So -- what does Nito want with this humanity?
Why is the Rite of Kindling Nito's special power?
I believe Nito has been happily co-existing with Gwyn, and they have been working together
to continue the Age of Fire. There is much to support this. Clerics in The Way of White,
which is essentially Gwyn's covenant, have the holy mission to gather the Rite of Kindling.
Way of White practitioners also know how to create bonfires, which uses methods created
by Nito. How in the world could they have known how to do this without Nito's input?
Nito has lost his Rite of Kindling to Pinwheel. So, it would seem that The Way of White is
actually in a way working with Nito in retrieving his lost Rite of Kindling. So long as The
Way of White find the Rite of Kindling and utilize it, this will still support his purpose
of further kindling the bonfires, regardless of who is doing it. -- Which is better than
Pinwheel holding onto it.
We know from the intro video that Gwyn and Nito had worked together in the past to fight
off the eternal dragons. I believe that friendship never ended, as they are mutually beneficial
to each other. So long as the Age of Fire continues, so too does Gwyn's reign over the
living, as well as Nito's reign over the dead. Although, it would seem that Nito is a little
power hungry, as his covenant would indicate. -- I don't believe his covenant actually has
anything to do with continuing the Age of Fire, however. If that was his purpose, then,
similar to other covenants in the game, you would offer Nito humanity. I think you offer
the eye of death as a token to raise up in his covenant, simply showing that you are
doing your job.
A further sign that Gwyn and Nito are on good terms is within the miracle "Escape Death".
Now, this miracle was cut from the final game, so decide what you believe, and if it's canon.
Regardless, the miracle "Escape Death"'s description reads: "Lost miracle, foreign to the Way of
White. While active, no losses incurred upon death. The way of White recognizes death itself,
but admonishes the Undead. It is for this very reason that this miracle was lost." What
this only further indicates is that to Lord Gwyn death is actually supported, even more
so over undeath. Because, with fire, disparity is something Gwyn would support. I think that
Gwyn is somewhat a lord of life and light, and therefore Nito would be his necessary
opposite. Nito, like Gwyn, is a God. One strong indicator of this is that, similar to Gwyn,
Nito's Gravelord miracles are... just that! Miracles! His power is tied to faith.
A quickie for you guys: Why does Nito not attack you if you lie in
the coffin, and why does he attack you otherwise? In order to be dragged into joining Nito's
covenant, the player must have at least one eye of death on them. I believe lying in the
coffin with the eye is simply a sign of trust. You are dragged off without knowing where
you are headed, and like being blind-folded, are taken into Nito's home. So why does he
attack you otherwise? You basically just barged into that ***'s home, and when you
think about it -- Nito is acting in self-defense. And he is right... you do have the intention
of killing him.
Alright guys, that wraps up this Lore video. Let me know what you guys think in the comments
below, and if you enjoyed this. I'd love to hear your theories and speculations. Additionally,
let me know if you liked this video, and If you'd like to see more Lore videos. Thanks!