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| “ | I watch over the Four Kings, the masters of the Darkwraiths. The Darkwraiths are the enemies of man, and any living thing that has a soul. They were born in New Londo, and that is where they perished; the entire city was sacrificed to contain them. I heard describing the Four Kings and the fall of New Londo. | „ |
| ~ Ingward on the Four Kings. |
The Four Kings are major antagonists in the 2011 action role-playing game Dark Souls.
They were once the rulers of New Londo in Lordran's past, who were tasked with guarding a Lord Soul by Lord Gwyn. However, they were eventually corrupted by the Abyss and manipulated by Darkstalker Kaathe, causing them to transform into evil Darkwraiths.
Biography[]
The Four Kings were once the unnamed leaders of a cultural city of Lordran known as New Londo. In recognition of their foresight, they were granted their ranks and offered fragments of a Lord Soul from the First Flame by Lord Gwyn. Not long did New Londo live in peace, however, as the Abyss emerged from underneath the city and a Primordial Serpent taught the kings the art of Lifedrain, which allowed them to suck out the Humanity of another. Usage of this forbidden art led them to be corrupted by the Abyss.
Falling into the darkness of the Abyss, the knights of the Four Kings became Darkwraiths, users of the art of Lifedrain. To contain the threat they posed, New Londo was flooded in an effort to trap the Four Kings and the Darkwraiths within the Abyss, sacrificing New Londo and countless lives within. Sealers waited atop the city ruins to await the bearer of the Lordvessel to defeat the Four Kings for good, though only Ingward remains alive by the time the Chosen Undead arrives.
With Ingward's help, the Chosen Undead opens the floodgate that drains the water from the New Londo ruins, fighting their way through the hollow Darkwraiths before plunging down into the pit of the Abyss. The Abyss will kill the player immediately unless they equip the Covenant of Artorias dropped by Sif, which grants Knight Artorias' ability for the Chosen Undead to transverse the Abyss.
From the depth of the Abyss do the Four Kings emerge to battle the Chosen Undead. As the battle progresses, more Kings appear from the Abyss, and up to all four could fight the Chosen Undead at the same time. Eventually, the Chosen Undead defeats the Four Kings and obtains their Bequeathed Lord Soul Shard.
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Trivia[]
- The Four Kings are the only holders of a portion of the Lord Soul that are absent from the opening cinematic.
- Because there is nothing restricting the player's access to the Four Kings, it is possible for them to claim their Lord Soul Shard before obtaining the Lordvessel.
- In New Game Plus runs, the Four Kings have the most health of all bosses with 16,060 HP, which is 4,015 HP per King.
- Originally, a sword was meant to be acquired after defeating the Four Kings, but this was cut from the final game. However, it can be obtained through the game's files.
