Irithyll of the Boreal Valley is an iconic location in Dark Souls 3 and full of some deep and interesting lore. In this city of eternal night and bitter cold, players discover a sinister plot to overthrow the church, deals made with worshipers of the Deep, and strange residents with seemingly no backstory.
While the player may learn a lot about the overall story here, there is quite a bit that doesn’t make a lot of sense. It could be that being from a FromSoftware game, some of these confusing parts have yet to be discovered by the players, but others seem like oversights.
10 The Profaned Flame
The entire conflict that resulted in Irithyll’s current state stemmed from Pontiff Sulyvahn discovering the Profaned Flame in the depths of the city. Beneath this world of ice and snow, he found an eternally burning flame that inspired him to overthrow the Church of the Moon, invite Aldrich over for dinner, and give the Deep cultists free reign of the city.
What was this flame that caused a young sorcerer to become a murderous Pontiff? Is it the chaos flame that Izalith found and was similarly corrupted by? Or is it merely a source of power that the Pontiff is seeking to exploit?
9 A Sorcerer Became Popular In The Church
After discovering the flame, Sulyvahn began quickly rising within the hierarchy of the Moon Church until he reached a position to overthrow it and bring the Deep Church into the mix. What’s unclear is how he was able to not only join but quickly rise in popularity as a sorcerer.
The Moon Church, like many other religions in this world, is deeply apposed to pyromancies and sorcery in general. The fact that a sorcerer wielding such heretical magic would become so popular with members of that order is highly unusual.
8 What Caused The City To Be Consumed In Fire?
The Profane Flame pyromancy states in its description that the city was consumed by fire shortly after Yhorm became a Lord of Cinder. What isn’t made clear is why this happened exactly.
It could be similar to Gwyn’s knights being consumed by fire after he linked with the flame, but this was an entire city. It’s possible the linking process requires a considerable number of humanity to serve as fuel, but no one is consumed whenever the player links up. Why the city was incinerated doesn’t make a lot of sense.
7 Why Didn’t The City Itself Burn?
Further adding to the mystery of the city’s incineration is the fact that the city itself was relatively unscathed. A fire swept through the entire place torching everyone and everything in sight but not one building was damaged.
Granted this is a magical fire as a result of a divine ritual, but even Gwyn’s knights had their armor seared by the process. Yet not one object in Irithyll suffered a similar fate. It stands to reason that at least one guard was in a suit of armor when the fire happened, yet no singed individuals or their armor are around.
6 The Identity Of The Dancer Of Boreal
The Dancer of Boreal is a horrifying figure that is a tough boss to beat. What’s unclear is who she is. The Soul of the Dancer states that she was a daughter of the royal family before Pontiff Sulyvahn ordered her to become a Dancer and then an Outrider Knight.
It’s also known in the game that the Outrider Knights were once humans who became twisted and corrupted by rings known as the Pontiff’s Eyes. It’s likely the Dancer was corrupted into her twisted form in a similar manner. But it still leaves the ultimate question of which family did she hail from and what is her real identity.
5 What’s With The Doll?
Before the player can access the city of Irithyll they need to obtain a Small Doll. This little doll made of silver is needed to bypass the magical barrier around the city. Of course, there are two mysteries surrounding this little object, why is the magical key to the city a small doll and why does it talk?
The Pontiff created these to give to important individuals that needed access in and out of the city. But of all the objects that could have been chosen like a ring, coin, or an actual key, he picked a doll. The fact that it’s said to whisper to whoever holds it, beckoning people to the city, is similarly bizarre and never explained.
4 The Wretches
When players enter the Irithyll Dungeon they’ll encounter strange creatures lurking in the cells called Wretches. These deformed monstrosities are seemingly half human/half dragon hybrids. Even stranger is that the first one encountered is passive.
There doesn’t seem to be an explanation for what these terrifying creatures are or where they came from. Where they the results of experiments by the Pontiff? Are they creatures from the Deep brought over by the Archdeacons? Could they have something to do with the Archdragon Keep being nearby?
3 Why Is Pontiff Helping Aldrich And The Deep Cult?
After encountering the Profane Flame and abolishing the Moon Church the Pontiff coordinates with the Church of the Deep and invites them into the society. He even goes so far as to plant the founder Aldrich, an amorphous blob that eats gods, into one of the towers.
Yet there’s no indication why he would do this. There’s no evidence that supports the idea he’s a member of the church, in fact his soul’s color is a rich gold whereas members of the Deep are a blue/black. There’s even evidence that suggests he killed one of the Archdeacons. So, what exactly is his endgame by bringing the Deep to Irithyll?
2 The Eternal Moon
Long before Pontiff plunged the city into chaos is the mysterious moon that hangs ever present in the sky. There’s never any sun and no records that there ever was a sun, just an eternal moon looming over the city since it’s founding.
The cause of this perpetual night is never explained. Further confounding this is the fact that nearby kingdoms and locations don’t have this problem, suggesting it’s unique to Irithyll. Perhaps it has something to do with Gwyndolin being in town?
1 How Did Anyone Survive In Irithyll?
Given that the moon is an eternal presence and the sun has never graced the valley it’s unclear how anyone survived, let alone built a thriving kingdom. The Vitamin D deficiency would have resulted in residents having their hair fall out, brittle bones, severe depression, and been very prone to illness.
There’s also the fact that agricultural efforts would have been nearly impossible. Not only is it a cold environment but sunlight is critical to the growth of most crops. Unless the city was consuming vast amounts of fish or supported by magic in some way it makes no sense they would have survived, let alone thrived in such a sunless environment.
NEXT: Dark Souls 3: 10 Things You Never Noticed In The Grand Archives
