Dark Souls has gone from a cult classic video game to a video game trilogy that gamers have fallen in love with. With every new major game release, FromSoftware ups the ante in terms of what their audience should expect from them.

In the first game, players learn of Lord Gwyn and his effect on the world around him. He was connected to the light and spent most of his time focused on ending the reign of dragons. His family led interesting lives and all of them were tragically affected by the world.

10 Gwynevere, The Illusion

Upon defeating Ornstein and Smough in Dark Souls, players are introduced to Gwynevere, the most notable of Gwyn’s children. She pleads with the player to link the fire, and this is the first tell that she isn’t who she claims to be.

The visual look of the daughter is correct, but the entity laying before the player is an illusion crafted by her brother Gwyndolin in an effort to persuade the player into linking the fire. Players who attack and kill this illusion will trigger a fight with Gwyndolin in a never-ending hallway of sorts.

9 Gwyndolin Was A Boy

Players who somewhat pay attention to the narrative of Dark Souls might come to the conclusion that Gwyn had three daughters. Not only did he have a fourth child that he disowned that was a boy, one of his three daughters was biologically male but raised as a girl due to his connection to the moon.

This son is Gwyndolin, the very same person who used an illusion of his sister to persuade the player into linking the flame. He ended up succumbing to a sickness and growing weak, which resulted in him being consumed by the former Saint of the Deep, Aldrich.

8 The Enemy Of My Enemy

Gwyn was a rather mighty ruler, but like with any individual with power, the moment his status is threatened, he becomes desperate. Despite hating dragons, Gwyn found that working with one would be the best course of action and thus bonded with Seathe the Scaleless.

This dragon hated his own kind and would spend most of his time running experiments. Though this dragon helped Gwyn defeat the dragons and win the war, it cost him friendships and alliances, with no loss feeling worse than his friendship with Havel the Rock.

7 Allfather Lloyd

Allfather Lloyd was Gwyn’s uncle and was once considered a powerful man. He was linked to a group known as Way of White and his cleric knights made a reputation for themselves as the hunters of the Undead.

Time wasn’t kind to Lloyd, however, as the Way of White eventually questioned his authenticity and went as far as to call him a fraud and label his title as “Allfather’ as a meaningless self-proclaimed title. Since he’s the uncle of Gwyn, then that means he had a sibling whose identity is still unknown.

6 Filianore of the Ringed City

For the longest time, Filianore was the least known or interesting child of Gwyn until her existence was made extremely meaningful in the final DLC for Dark Souls III. There are many lore theories surrounded her role in the universe and what she is exactly.

Some texts point to her being the matriarch of the church, while others feel she is a tool used by the gods. When the player touches the egg she is holding, it’s unclear if she breaks an illusion to reveal the world for what it really is, or if players were transported to an alternate dimension or place in time.

5 Consumed By Aldrich (Gwyndolin)

As previously mentioned Gwyndolin was the son of Gwyn but was raised as a daughter due to his connection to the moon. Not only did Gwyndolin go on to rule Anor Londo in the absence of his father, but changed many aspects of the once holy and godly capital.

In Dark Souls III, upon returning to Anor Londo, players come across a boss known as Aldrich who is in the middle of consuming someone. That someone happened to be Gwyndolin and it’s his body that he’s puppeteering when he fights the player in the same arena that Ornstein and Smough once protected.

4 His Good Friend Havel

Gwyn, being a ruler, didn’t have many friends and had a hard time trusting people. By his side, though, was a stoic and immovable warrior known as Havel the Rock. This man was loyal to the cause and was known for being anti-magic and hating the dragons.

The moment he found out Gwyn was working with Seathe the Scaleless, a dragon that betrayed its own kind with the aid of magic, Havel turned on his longtime friend. This caused an unfixable rift in their relationship and it was never mended.

3 His Four Knights

Gwyn may have been a ruler, but he understood that he needed to protect himself and his land to the best of his abilities. This is why he employed a group of four individuals called the Knights of Gwyn.

This group included Dragonslayer Ornstein, Lord’s Blade Ciaran, Hawkeye Gough, and the legendary knight known as Artorias, the Abysswalker. The collection of these knights was quite impressive as each of them was incredibly capable and willing to do what must be done in Gwyn’s name, no matter the cost or sacrifice.

2 The Nameless King Was His Son

The Nameless King from Dark Souls III is notable since he is considered one of the harder boss fights in the game. In terms of lore, though, that’s where things get really interesting. It’s alluded to that the Nameless King is actually Gwyn’s first-born son. Gwyn stripped him of his titles and erased his history due to his kinship with dragons.

This is likely why the Nameless King is so powerful, since he inherited sunlight through his birth. The knight known as Dragonslayer Ornstein was also extremely loyal to him and eventually sought him out.

1 Reincarnation (Soul of Cinder)

So, the Soul of Cinder, which serves as the final boss for the trilogy for those who don’t play the DLC, is a special collection of souls. It’s a manifestation of every Lord of Cinder who ever linked the First Flame throughout time, so in this way, Gwyn is reincarnated to fight once more for the light.

Keen-eyed players will even notice that some of the moves Soul of Cinder uses are direct references to the fighting style of Gwyn that’s witnessed in the first game when players fight him at the very end of their journey.

NEXT: 10 Dark Souls Lore Facts You May Have Missed