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"Mature Content Warning!" |
| “ | Let's take Aldrich, for one. A right and proper cleric, only, he developed a habit of devouring men. He ate so many that he bloated like a drowned pig, then softened into sludge, so they stuck him in the Cathedral of the Deep. | „ |
| ~ Hawkwood the Deserter |
Aldrich, Devourer of Gods is one of the two secondary antagonists of Dark Souls III and the deuteragonist of Dark Souls: The Breath of Andolus.
He is one of the four resurrected Lords of Cinder, those who kindled the First Flame to prolong the Age of Fire. However, unlike his morally gray fellows, content to keep to themselves, Aldrich is a sadistic cannibal with grand plans after his revival.
What Makes Him a Hate Sink?[]
- He was a cleric, who are repeatedly portrayed as unscrupulous throughout the franchise.
- During the events of The Breath of Andolus, he manipulates protagonist Fira to revive Andolus, so that he may make use of it's dying breath.
- He was a cannibal prior to becoming a Lord of Cinder.
- Many cannibals exist in Dark Souls, but he was particularly sadistic, even compared to them, as he enjoyed eating people, including children, alive and listening to their screams.
- Two of the children he threatened to eat were Horace and Anri, a fan favourite character.
- He ate so many he grew too fat for his own body to support him, causing him to collapse into a pile of sludge.
- He linked the First Flame out of selfish desire.
- The only reason he was allowed to was that he had eaten so many, the amount of souls/strength of his soul was too great to ignore.
- Due to his status as a Lord, the Church of White indulged his cannibalism, the Deacons of the Deep bringing sacrifices for him to eat.
- He created rings that would replicate the sensations as the people he ate finally died, so he could share the experience with others.
- Sought to user in the Age of Deep, a contrastingly unambiguously bad version of the Age of Dark.
- In the opening for Dark Souls III, the other Lords of Cinder have grand entrances as they are revived. Meanwhile, Aldrich's involves him just flopping out of his coffin.
- He sought to devour the very gods, so went to Anor Londo and had Pontiff Sulyvahn feed him Dark Sun Gwyndolin, a beloved legacy character from the first Dark Souls.
- It's heavily implied he killed and, ironically, ate Executioner Smough, a similarly well loved character.
- Contrastingly, while Smough was also cannibal, he was nowhere near as sadistic as Aldrich, only eating ground up bone of already executed criminals, as well as being loyal to the powers in Anor Londo.
- Many of the enemies encountered early in the game are working for Aldrich and the Church of the Deep.
- The Giant Blacksmith is found dead nearby his boss arena, hinting he was killed by Aldrich's forces.
- He uses sorceries, widely hated in the soulsborne community.
- As a result, he can easily be trivialised using Vow of Silence, making him pathetic.
- Like much of Dark Souls III, Aldrich plays on nostalgia for Dark Souls. However, it's instead used to show how vile he is by how he tarnishes it.
- As said earlier, he killed Smough and placed Gwyndolin in a fate worse than death, both being characters from the first game.
- He makes use of Crossbreed Priscilla's Lifehunt Scythe.
- His boss fight takes place in the same room as Ornstein and Smough's, widely considered the best fight in the base game, however, it is now tarnished, in contrast to it's great, golden, glory, it's dark and filled with sludge and bones.
- His theme is a perversion of Gwyndolin's theme, before completely discarding the resemblances once it moves to Phase 2.
- While other bosses make up for their hateable qualities with an enjoyable boss fight, Aldrich's is often criticized for being annoying.
- With each Lord representing a fault with the process of Linking the Fire, Aldrich represents the abhorrent corruption behind the system and how evil people can exploit it.
Trivia[]
- Aldrich is very similar to Nashandra from Dark Souls II. Both are characters who orchestrate many of the events of the game, lack any redeeming qualities, possess an appearance made of bones and black sludge, as well as having thematically underwhelming boss fights due to their respective protagonist's growing from their journeys.
External links[]
- Aldrich on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Aldrich on the Villains Wiki
- Aldrich on the Dark Souls Wiki