High Lord Wolnir

High Lord Wolnir is a minor antagonist and boss in Dark Souls III. The former ruler of Carthus, his attempt to harness the Abyss for himself failed and fell victim to its corruption like many others beforehand.

Wolnir was from the kingdom of Carthus, a desert kingdom known for its swordsmen and pyromancy. Sometime ago, Wolnir defeated the lords down to their knees and conquered many kingdoms known to his people. Thus, the crowns became one as Wolnir became the tyrannical High Lord of Carthus.

Wolnir would then find the Abyss left behind by Manus, and decided to obtain it for himself. His plan backfired and found himself stuck between earth and the fog of the Abyss. In falling he pleaded to the gods for the first time. Wolnir managed to survive plunging into the Abyss from a holy sword and three armlets he stripped from the bodies of clerics. His gift from the gods was a skull-shaped chalice that warped anyone who touched it down to the cliff of Abyss Wolnir is attached to. Using it, Wolnir damned many innocent souls just so he could outlive the Abyss slowly consuming him.

Wolnir placed his chalice at the end of the Catacombs of Carthus, where many of his warriors were buried. The Ashen One touching the chalice reveals that enough time has passed to where Wolnir is reduced to an undead skeleton from the torso up. Using the Grave Warden Pyromancy Tome to lure in the player to pick it up will begin the battle.

To defeat Wolnir, the player must attack the armlets: two on his left arm, one on his right. When fighting Wolnir, never approach his arms if they go into the fog, as the fog quickly deplenishes vitality. Wolnir can even shoot some of the fog from his mouth. He can summon skeletons to aid him in battle, though they can be defeated by his attacks. After one of his bracelets is destroyed, he may summon his holy sword. Wolnir will climb up the hill but will fall back when a bracelet is destroyed, so the player must keep Wolnir at a certain distance from the top of the hill, which is blocked off by a wall.

Once all three bracelets are destroyed, Wolnir lets out a silent scream as he is dragged and devoured by the Abyss. The chalice appears and sucks the fog into it. The player then wakes up back in the Catacombs with the entrance to Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. His Grave Warden Pyromancy Tome can be given to Karla to obtain the Black Flame and Black Flame Orb.

Trivia

 * If Wolnir is defeated without breaking all three armlets, he will simply disintegrate into ash like most of the Dark Souls bosses.
 * It is possible for the player to immediately run to an armlet rather than the Grave Warden Pyromancy Tome like usual to damage the armlets before the battle even begins. Using Pestilent Mist, although very damaging to the caster and costs a lot of focus points, damages Wolnir without even being detected until an armlet breaks.