It can be reasonably assumed that the Age of Dark is the third Age in the timeline, following the primordial Age of Ancients and the first Age of Fire. The idea that the linking of the First Flame was unnatural and that it ran contrary to the order of the world is an important concept in the Dark Souls series, especially as the Age of Fire is prolonged perpetually by innumerable successive individuals seeking to prevent the coming of the Age of Dark. Kaathe asserts that the Age of Dark is "the age of men," presumably meaning the Age of those possessing Humanity in contrast to the Age of the Gods, and also declares that Gwyn "resisted the course of nature" when he linked the Flame and prolonged the Age of Fire. When the protagonists are given information about the Age of Dark, it typically comes from the mouths of potentially unreliable narrators, of whom Kaathe and his counterpart, Kingseeker Frampt, are examples. What exactly the term "Age of Dark" implies is never made explicitly clear in the games, however it is stated in the canonical Dark Souls Trilogy Compendium to be a time when the Light fades, a Dark Lord is heralded, and humanity dominates the world.
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It is important to note that Kaathe tells the Chosen Undead that the Age of Dark had apparently already begun shortly before Gwyn chose to link the Flame, though it was seemingly ended and replaced by the Age of Fire when the Flame was linked. Should the Chosen Undead abandon the First Flame after the defeat of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, they will "usher in the Age of Dark", and become the fabled "Dark Lord" of whom Kaathe speaks. Each of the Dark Souls games takes place during a late point in the Age of Fire, a point which could theoretically lead to the beginning of the Age of Dark, but which does not do so during the normal course of gameplay, with one possible exception.Īccording to Darkstalker Kaathe, the Chosen Undead, protagonist of Dark Souls, is destined to bring about the Age of Dark, as they are the descendant of the Furtive Pygmy, who possessed the Dark Soul and divided it among early humans in the form of Humanity. Despite the Age of Dark being a ubiquitous concept throughout the Dark Souls series, it is never the "current" state of the world in any of the existing games. The Age of Dark is said to begin when the First Flame fades, thus ending the Age of Fire, the Age of the Gods.
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The Age of Dark, also known as the Age of Humanity, is an era in the lore of Dark Souls.