The Thief - Dark souls lore - Pinwheel

Hey guys, and welcome back to my Dark Souls Lore series. Today, we're gonna talk about Pinwheel. Pinwheel is an interesting character because there's not a lot to go off of on Pinwheel, yet there's a lot of different speculations I think are worth addressing. So, let's begin. There are few things we do know for certain about Pinwheel. We know that Pinwheel actually consists of three different bodies all acting in unison as one. The Japanese name for the boss is Sannin Haori, also meaning 3 person weave. This is based off of Ninin Haori, or a 2 person weave, which is a common and well known Japanese joke within the culture. Pinwheel itself consists of a father, a mother, and a child, all woven together acting as one. When defeating Pinwheel, the player will receive one of the three masks of Pinwheel, each representing the different family members who have been sown together. Further proof of this comes from this concept art, with an excellent clarification outline drawn by Reddit user Drascoll on the left side. This depicts just how Pinwheel gets its shape. As you can see, the father carries both the mother and child, and this further explains why each mask of Pinwheel has its description. The Mask of the Father [belongs to the valiant father and slightly raises equipment load] -- depicting how the father both physically and metaphorically supported his family. The Mask of the Mother [belongs to the kindly mother and slightly raises HP] -- depicting how the mother would care for her family, thus raising their health. And finally, the Mask of the Child [belongs to the naïve child, slightly raises stamina recovery speed], depicting the endless energy of youth. The final thing we know for certain about Pinwheel, is that all of the masks are described as "One of the three masks of the Pinwheel, the necromancer who stole the power of the Gravelord, and reigns over the Catacombs." -- And what is the power of the Gravelord? Well, the primary thing Pinwheel drops upon killing it is the "Rite of Kindling", described as: "The secret rite [that] 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, what else can we discover about the enigma that is Pinwheel? Well, if you listen closely to the music playing in its Boss chamber, it sounds as though someone is constantly whispering "I'm so sorry". (Play music). This lead to the interpretation that perhaps Pinwheel was formed by a man whose family died, and stole the power of kindling in order to experiment and bring them back. If you'd like to hear this theory further, I highly recommend watching VaatiVidya's Pinwheel Lore video, as he does an excellent job depicting this theory. Another theory, brought forth thanks to Reddit user MSPainting, is one I actually find to be more likely. The various masks of Pinwheel are depicted throughout the catacombs. Statues have been built, depicting the father, as well as statues built to represent the mother bearing a child. As we've seen with statues in Dark Souls, it would seem that these were built to honor the necromancers, such as Pinwheel. We also see a series of Pinwheels guarding Nito's chamber, where there is also a small pond of water that creates humanity bearing baby skeletons. The room is filled with skeletons stuck in a prostrated position, seeming to bow to both Nito and the Pinwheels existing in the room. I believe these Necromancers were actually responsible for burying the dead, and extracting the humanity for Nito. They are honored in this holy burial ground, and site of Nito. I don't believe a blasphemous thief of Nito would have various statues honoring him. Something else to consider: Pinwheel has stolen the power of the Gravelord. Where else do we see mention of this? While searching the Tomb of Giants, players can find the Effigy shield, described as a "Frightful occult shield. In an ill-fated plot to destroy the very gods, the followers of the occult once attempted to steal the power of Gravelord Nito, the first of the dead." Wait a second. The followers of the occult attempted to steal the power of Gravelord Nito... and Pinwheel succeeded in doing just that. He stole the power of the gravelord. A common point of wonder has been, why is there an empty coffin next to Nito? Who's could it have possibly been? What if -- in order to get close to Nito, Pinwheel became the highest ranking Necromancer, and this was actually Pinwheel's coffin? Pinwheel then betrayed Nito, and stole the Rite of Kindling. There are further ties to Pinwheel and the Occult as well. In front of Pinwheel's boss chamber, there are various bonewheels guarding him. They also look like a spinning pinwheel while in motion, again, possibly tying the two together. There's only one other location we find the Bonewheels in the game... and that's in the Painted World of Ariamis, along with the Dark Ember -- associated with the occult -- as well as the other things the Gods feared. So, why did Nito steal the Rite of Kindling, and what is Pinwheel doing with it? If Pinwheel is an Occult member, it's likely Pinwheel stole the Rite of Kindling in order to prevent Gwyn and Nito from having it. As I explained in my Nito Lore video, I believe Gwyn and Nito continued to work in unison, and the Rite of Kindling, created by Nito, is also used by the Way of White in order to Kindle bonfires and further extend the Age of Fire. By stealing the Rite of Kindling, Pinwheel is preventing the kindling of bonfires, and thus hurting both Nito and Gwyn, just as the Occult would have wanted. And what is Pinwheel tinkering away at? Well, this I'm honestly not sure about. We see various skeletons hung about, as well as books scattered throughout the chamber. If bonfires are made with the bones of the Undead, it's possible Pinwheel is experimenting with the Skeletons in order to either destroy the Rite of Kindling, or learn how to harness its power. Is he trying to develop a way to create or destroy bonfires? What do you guys think? Alright, that wraps up this Dark Souls Lore video. I know a lot of this is going against the now common belief presented by VaatVidya, and I'd love to hear what you guys believe Pinwheel's true purpose is. Vaati created a great video depicting the theory of a father, desperately trying to fix his mistake, and I still highly recommend giving it a watch. Thanks again for joining me guys, and I'll see ya next time! Peace!