Pinwheel

Lore

Residing in The Catacombs, Pinwheel is a hovering, multi-masked necromancer who stole the power of the Gravelord and now reigns over the Catacombs. It has the ability to spawn multiple copies of itself and attacks with projectile blasts.

Pinwheel has three masks, Mask of the Child/Mother/Father, which can be obtained by killing him.

It is possible to summon Paladin Leeroy to help in the fight against Pinwheel.

Theories

Why Pinwheel Stole Nito's Power

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When fighting Nito, he controls, or is at least necromancing two skeletons. This may ultimately be Nito's power that Pinwheel wanted.

Starting with Pinwheel's coffin, it is filled with books and skeletons/corpses which is by far not unnatural for a necromancer, but it hints that he is dedicated to gain knowledge and practices hard to achieve something. In the Catacombs there is a hidden room behind a wall in which a slightly opened coffin is found with a corpse inside.

In this same hidden room there is a large statue of a woman holding a baby in her hands. It may be that the corpse belongs to the woman depicted by the statue. It could be that Pinwheel is the father that desperately tries to revive his loved ones.

Pinwheel's Possible Involvement with the Occult Rebellion

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In the aforementioned hidden room where the coffin is found, in which the corpse in presumed connection with Pinwheel lies, holding the Darkmoon Seance Ring:
This ring is granted to adherents of Gwyndolin, Darkmoon deity and last born of Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight.

It allows the wearer, presumably a member of the Blade of the Darkmoon Covenant, to invade the world of a sinner to seek justice.

Interestingly, the Effigy Shield found in the Tomb of the Giants and the Darkmoon Seance Ring may connect Pinwheel to the occult rebellion theory:
Frightful occult shield. Defends against Divine weapons and lightning.
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.

If indeed Pinwheel was part of the occult rebellion, it would make sense for Paladin Leeroy to help in the fight, but also prevent anyone entering Nito's domain and attempting to steal Nito's power.

The Three Masks

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In human history, death masks were once used as mementos of the dead. As far as appearances go, both the Mask of the Mother and Child are eyeless, however the Mask of the Father is the only one to have eyes present.

The fact that the Masks of the Mother and Child are eyeless might symbolise the mother and child being dead for a while. The father is also apparently holding the bodies of the mother and the child on his back.

• The Mask of the Father slightly raises equipment load, symbolising how a father "carries" his family (quite literally in Pinwheel's case)
• The Mask of the Mother slightly raises HP, symbolising how a mother cares and protects her family.
• The Mask of the Child slightly raises stamina recovery speed, symbolising the inexhaustible energy of a playful child.

Expanding on this theory, it may be that after his wife and child passed away, the father attempted to find a way to resurrect his family (hence why he's found near Gravelord Nito, God of Death). Meddling with dark magic is risky business, however, and the family was fused together as a single entity. The Mask Of The Father is the lowest on Pinwheel, as if under the cloak he's carrying the Mother and Child. Also, Pinwheel is in a crypt filled with hundreds of books, as if he's desperately researching some sort of fix. And to top it all off, one of Pinwheel's main attacks is separating itself, as if trying to split back into three different entities.

Sources

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Rite of Kindling (Drop)
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.

Mask of the Child
One of the three masks of the Pinwheel, the necromancer who stole the power of the Gravelord, and reigns over the Catacombs.
This mask, belonging to the naive child, slightly raises stamina recovery speed.

Mask of the Mother
One of the three masks of the Pinwheel, the necromancer who stole the power of the Gravelord, and reigns over the Catacombs.
This mask, belonging to the kindly mother, slightly raises HP.

Mask of the Father
One of the three masks of the Pinwheel, the necromancer who stole the power of the Gravelord, and reigns over the Catacombs.
This mask, belonging to the valiant father, slightly raises equipment load.

Effigy Shield
Frightful occult shield. Defends against divine weapons and lightning.
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.

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