Aldrich

Aldrich, Saint of the Deep (also known as Devourer of Gods) is a boss character from the video game Dark Souls III. He is one of the four resurrected Lords of Cinder residing in Lothric, those who kindled the First Flame to prolong the Age of Fire.

Appearance
Aldritch was once a average-looking human male. But after continuously devouring human flesh, he became morbidly obese and eventually degenerated to a writhing black mass of sludge. However, during his boss fight, Aldritch takes on a humanoid form.

Personality
Aldrich was said to be a "right and proper cleric", implying that at one point, Aldrich was an upstanding member of the Church. At some point however, he developed cannibalistic tendencies.

He seemed to take great pleasure in his cannibalism, taking to the process as like a religious experience, as not only did he take pleasure in his victim's screams, but also wished to share this gluttony with those around him.

Aldrich was ambitious, as not only did he change the dogma that led the Cathedral of the Deep to worship him, but he also took to devouring gods, suceeding with Gwendolyn.

Unlike the other Lords of Cinder, who had good intentions in mind, Aldrich is the only one who is overtly corrupt and apathetic to the plight of others.

Powers and Abilities
Formerly human, his cannibalism transformed him into a malleable, sludge-like form. In this form, Aldrich was believed to be more powerful than most, gaining the strength of those he devoured. In this form, he also received prophetic dreams, ones so accurate that he could recreate constructs of them in battle.

As a Lord of Cinder, Aldrich is also able to control fire.

History
Aldrich was once a holy cleric hailing from the city of Irithyll with a craving for human flesh. He gained much strength and was transformed into an aberration of black sludge and bones resembling rib-cages. He became a Lord of Cinder and linked the First Flame, "not for virtue, but for might. While this happened, he had visions of a "coming age of the deep sea", vowing to devour the gods themselves to achieve this. He formed the Church of the Deep, based around a dark magic known as "Deep" which was said to be darker than the humanity that resided in every living thing. The Church was led by Aldrich, with Pontiff Sulyvahn and Archdeacons Royce and McDonnell as his most trusted priests. They would provide sacrifices to their Lord in order to satiate his hunger.

Dark Souls III
Aldrich reemerged from his coffin in the depths of his cathedral, dreaming of the Old Gods and his ambition to devour them. With Sulyvahn as an escort, Aldrich was able to reach the old Anor Londo and slowly consumed the last god that resided there, Gwyndolin, who gave himself to Aldrich to save his sister Yorshka. Aldrich assimilated Gwyndolin to him and is able to use his magical abilities. While Aldrich devoured the Darkmoon God, he dreamed of a pale girl exiled and in hiding. This girl is heavily implied to be Crossbreed Priscilla from the first Dark Souls.

Trivia

 * Unlike every other Lord of Cinder who were portrayed as Anti Villains and kindled the fire willingly, Aldrich is the only truly evil Lord of Cinder as well as the only one to have kindled the fire unwillingly.
 * It is possible that he was chosen as a Lord of Cinder not as a precaution against Aldrich, nor out of respect, but because he absorbed so many souls from the men he devoured, making the prime candidate for kindling the fire.
 * While it is believed that the Age of Dark came after the Age of Fire, Aldrich had a vision of an "Age of the Deep" in contrast to the Age of Dark. Given how his visions are so powerful that he can replicate spells and weapons with them, it is likely that Aldrich was truly correct on what he believed, or was at least more accurate than others.
 * Aldrich's soul is massively different from most other souls, being wispy and black as opposed to like that of a flame, tinted a light blue.
 * Aldrich as well as his Right Hand, Pontiff Sulyvahn, are the most unambiguously evil characters in the Dark Souls series as well as the only one to be considered Complete Monsters