Lautrec, Anor Londo, and Conjecture.

So, here we are. Part two. The conclusion to the epic story.

The finale. 

The post where I finish what I started writing last night but then scheduled to post regardless of how finished it was because I needed to go to bed.

Lautrec the Embraced. The Firelink Shrine Murderer. That Gold Fucker. He's known by many names, but his involvement in the Dark Souls story is shrouded in mystery.

UNTIL NOW. 

I'm going to smash the doors off this gloomy corner of Dark Souls lore and fire a few truth arrows straight into the shield of unknowing. I'm going to raise my blade of insight above me, then cleave the stone of confusion that has cast a shadow over this land clean in twain.

Or, more likely, jabber on for a bit before saying "I don't know. Maybe it was aliens or something."

In my last post I listed the things about Lautrec being in Anor Londo that I was a bit confused by; in this post I'm going to attempt to answer those questions - this is little more than my own ruminations and logical leaps, so if you feel differently please comment below.

So, question one:

If Lautrec exists in your world, why do you have to use a Black Eye Orb to find him?

I'm sort of annoyed I started with this question first, because I don't believe there's any answer. Did Lautrec somehow travel between worlds? Possible, but if he has the ability to do that, quite how being trapped behind a locked door in the Parish kept him still I'm not sure. It's really annoying to just say "LOL videogames" and be done with it, but while I was researching this piece the rather wonderful Andi Hamilton (Who, as you may recall, is the reason I'm writing this bloody blog in the first place) told me that a lot of Lautrec's story was cut from the final game - this could have something to do with that. At the end of the day it's a little mechanical thing and it's probably not too important. I don't know. Maybe it was aliens or something.

How did Lautrec get to Anor Londo?

There is a simple answer to this, but it goes against another theory that I have as to how Lautrec came to be in that hall. 

The simple answer is that Lautrec somehow moved between worlds, took out the Iron Golem and was taken there in the same way as you (assuming of course that the Iron Golem represents some sort of last test for the chosen undead) - that's how the player gets there, and it's the only way we know it's possible to get to Anor Londo without the power of the Lordvessel.

However, Lautrec isn't far from a smashed window, and the fact that he and his guard are all using a fall control spell suggests to me that they may have made some kind of aerial assault - although how that happens I have no clue; I'm fairly certain there are no military dropships anywhere in the Dark Souls universe. 

I don't know. Maybe it was aliens or something.

Why is Lautrec in Anor Londo?

This is an interesting question. We know that Lautrec was pretty much obsessed with serving Fina (his armour description states that he forsook everything because he believed in her love for him), so what would Fina want him to do?

My initial thought was that Lautrec is out to kill firekeepers. He murders Anastacia, and isn't far from the Lady of the Darkling in Anor Londo, but however he's arrived there (be it Harpies or Apache gunship) he would have had to make some effort to get to her from his current location - it just doesn't feel right.

So, that means he's either there for the Chuckle Brothers, the Lordvessel, or for Gwynevere.

Actually, no it doesn't. This has only just occurred to me, but it's possible that he could be here for all three, like you are, and he's just one step ahead of you. After all, we know that every world is connected (via multiplayer), and he's fairly obsessed with humanity - he even states that the undead know how to use it better than the living - maybe he's stocking up to summon people to help him with Ornstein and Smough? It would also explain what he says about Anastacia outliving her usefulness: If Lautrec's plan were to work out, by the time he returned to Firelink he would have the Lordvessel, and would no longer need Anastacia's flame to refill his Estus. 

The more I think about it, the more I think that Lautrec is simply on the same quest as you.

Why? Now I think about it, it's fairly simple: Lautrec is obsessed with Fina, and by allowing the first flame to die, Lautrec would be allowing the Goddess he loves to die. 

Oh fucking hell, this actually gets darker.

So, right, Lautrec's armour description says "During his solitude, he forsook everything, for he believed in the goddess's love for him" - is the solitude it describes being locked in that cell in the Parish? Did Fina seduce a lonely man, locked away and going crazy, into performing this quest for her in order to prolong her life? We know the Gods had fled from Lordran in fear of Gwyn, so is it too huge a logical leap to suggest that this was this her way of staying alive?

Ugh.

Why is one of one of Lautrec's companions in Sealer's garb?

Okay, I think there's two potential answers to this: Number one: It's someone who happens to have found the Crimson set in their world. You can wear that exact same stuff, and you aren't a Sealer, so it's possible. Easy.

The second answer is a little bit more leap-of-logic. 

The Mask of the Sealer says that "It symbolizes their resolve to keep the seal shut forever" - is it possible that one of the Sealers knew what Lautrec was trying to achieve, then removed his mask as he knew Lautrec would have to break the seal to destroy the Four Kings in order to prolong the age of fire - thus doing a more final job than what the Sealers managed and absolving them somewhat for flooding Anor Londo (which, as somebody pointed out recently, was an undead city. The people caught in those floods would have drowned over and over until their bodies rotted. Fucking hell.)?

I know I've made some pretty big logical leaps there, but it all makes perfect sense to me:- feel free to shoot me down on that one.

I don't know why I'm so obsessed with this section of the game; I think it's just because there are so few solid answers (or even suggested answers) out there for these questions, and maybe I just feel guilty for Anastacia after never quite being able to bring myself to kill Lautrec, even when I felt like I should kick him off the edge.

I think that's about all the tying my own brain in knots I can stand for one night, but as mentioned earlier if you have any thoughts on anything discussed above, please drop something in the comments below.

Let's have a chat.