Old Dragonslayer

Lore

The Old Dragonslayer resides within the Blue Cathedral beside Heide’s Tower of Flame. He greatly resembles Dragonslayer Ornstein who guarded the Cathedral in Anor Londo in Dark Souls 1. Why or how this almost exact replica of Ornstein ended up in Heide is not explained. It is likely that the Old Dragonslayer is a ‘reincarnation’ of Dragonslayer Ornsteins soul, which was gifted to him and the Four Knights by Gwyn. This seems most probable because:

1. The Dragonslayer is very similar to Ornstein in both look and combat style, but with a few significant differences. The armor is darker, the attacks utilise Dark (unless you are skewered on his spear which uses lightning) and the Old Dragonslayer does not appear to be as agile as Ornstein was, despite originally charging at you when you enter, he does not do this again. Gravelord Nito and the Rotten are thematically similar in the sense that they are an amalgamation of bodies, and the Rotten is a confirmed ‘reincarnation’ of Nito.

2. Almost everything about the Dragonslayer is described as Old, from his soul to his in battle name to his Old Leo Ring. The four great souls of Gwyn, Nito, the Witch of Izalith and Seath the Scaleless are also all classed as Old (Old King Soul, Old Dead One Soul, Old Witch Soul, Old Paledrake Soul). The title of Old seems to be used to refer to something incredibly ancient (an exception being the Old Iron King), and perhaps a ‘reincarnation’.

3. The Dragonslayer soul creates Ornstein’s Ranseur (Dragonslayer Spear). While this evidence can be used to further the idea that the Old Dragonslayer is Ornstein, but fallen to Dark, it could also mean that it is the same soul that has taken on a new form, like the other Old souls.

4. The Dragonslayer guards a cathedral like Ornstein. This speaks of thematic similarities as opposed to the same man just doing the same thing for his entire existence. The Old Leo Ring was beloved by the Old Dragonslayer. The fact that it was beloved indicates a strong dependence on it, and may imply that the Old Dragonslayer was in fact not Ornstein, who seemed to possess a certain confidence in himself, though this is just speculation.

So, while not conclusive, the evidence seems to indicate that the Old Dragonslayer is not Ornstein himself, but just a continuation of his soul finding a ‘new’ form. If that’s the case then where can we place Ornstein in the world of Drangleic? It may be that the kingdom in which the Old Dragonslayer resided came under attack by dragons or those using dragons to attack. We know of only one force that utilised dragons to attack; Vendrick’s Dragonriders. These dragonriders were said to have helped Vendrick found his kingdom, crushing the former inhabitants of the land and erecting Drangleic upon their graves. The Old Dragonslayer may have risen to the occasion and fought against these Dragonriders. We also know that Vendrick was originally a seeker of light, and his army with him. This would explain why the Old Dragonslayer utilises Dark in his attacks.

Interestingly, if the Old Dragonslayer did fight against Vendrick’s Dragonriders, it would serves as a sort of reflection of how Gwyn fought against the dragon’s to rise to power, but reversed, as Vendrick used dragons to rise to power.

However, very little is known about Heide, and it seemed to find its end by being subsumed by the sea (though an invading force may have had a hand in that, perhaps by breaking dams or walls holding water back) instead of at the hands of an antagonistic force.

When looking at the Old Dragonslayer what seems most likely is that From Software is just giving the loyal blatant fan service, but who can say for sure?

Theories

The Old Dragonslayer is Dragonslayer Ornstein.

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It is a commonly circulated theory that the Old Dragonslayer may actually be Ornstein if he left Anor Londo with Gwynevere and Flame God Flann. We know that Gwynevere married Flame God Flann and left Anor Londo along with many of the other gods, but where they settled is not given to us. It may be that Heide is the remnants of their city. It certainly resembles Anor Londo, has gigantic statues that resemble Gwyn's image from Anor Londo (replaced by an eagle, associated with Ra the God of the Sun), is home to a great cathedral like Anor Londo and is named after its tower of flame (a lighthouse), which ties it to Flame God Flann.

The Old Dragonslayer is an impostor.

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In Dark Souls 3 we find Ornstein's armor with the description saying that he left Anor Londo in search of the Nameless King. We also know that people of the "God" race, to which Ornstein belonged, unlike humans, aren't Undead, so they can't come back after death exactly like they were. Their souls would need a vessel to replace their destroyed bodies, and even then it's probably more like another living being absorbing their power and perhaps possessed by it. So first, we must answer the question: is the Ornstein we fight in the first game an illusion by Gwyndolin? He probably isn't. First, we can get Ornstein's Soul from the encounter, and it looks to be as powerful as you'd expect: a soul of a God, but still not as powerful as a Lord Soul. It's doubtful that he'd leave his real soul in Gwyndolin's hands before leaving (as that would probably render him dead), and if he somehow agreed to leave a shard of it, it wouldn't be as powerful as the soul we get. It could be argued, though, that the soul shard got bigger by absorbing Smough's Soul. Still, the whole encounter doesn't feel like an illusion. And here comes the second part: you can actually fight Gwyndolin and dispel the illusion over Anor Londo before getting to Ornstein and Smough, and they'll both be there. It could be speculated that Ornstein had gone searching for the Nameless King and returned empty-handed before the events of the first game. Considering the fact that the Chosen Undead can acquire Ornstein's armor after the battle, it could be that they had it with them in either ending of the first game, and it was taken from them either by someone who came to replace the "fuel" of the First Flame, or by someone who challenged the Dark Lord, depending on their choice. The armor would then change masters pretty much the same way as Havel's armor, and end up worn by a Dark user in the Cathedral of the Blue, then finding its way back to the Archdragon Peak.

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PREV: Nashandra, Queen of Drangleic

NEXT: Old Iron King

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