Darksign (First, read about Dark Soul, Nito, and Bonfires) What about the Darksign, something often overlooked in Dark Souls? In the description, it says that you return to the last bonfire, albeit at the cost of all the souls you carry. Why does the Darksign do this? In order to figure out, we need to think of a few things first. Who does the Darksign brand? Only the Undead. We don’t know if the Darksign can brand other creatures, though. There are undead rats and dogs in Lordran, along with undead dragons. And, Gravelord Nito, first of the dead. Nito is oftentimes referred to as the ‘Lord of Death’, and he used his Lord Soul in order to power Death. How Nito came about is unclear, however; All we know is that he is dead, and he was able to obtain a Lord Soul. One theory, though, is that Nito’s soul persisted; Indeed, souls can never be created or destroyed (outside of the First Flame), they can only change form. Nito’s Soul could have encountered a Lord Soul, and then used it to power death in order to make himself a body, and gain more power. Alternatively, he could have found the soul while he was still alive, and used it to experiment with the dead and death, and he could have found a way to make himself defy death and potentially live forever. It would be in Nito’s best interests to keep death going, so that he keeps his power, so he lends as much as he can. And as the opening scene states, Life and Death both came with Fire. Without Fire, no Death. All of the Lords were concerned with the end of the First Flame, and each sought their own way. Gwyn sacrificed himself, the Witch of Izaleth tried to recreate the First Flame, and Seath looked for Immortality. Nito, however, tried something else. There are undead in the world because there is death, because Nito has created Undeath, and the Darksign. Ever wonder why the Darksign is called the Darksign? It brands those who have a piece of the Dark Soul. Giants don’t go undead, Demons aren’t undead, and most things in Lordran are not dead. Even Nito, the epitamy of Undeath, has a dark cloak, perhaps made of Humanity. What evidence do we have of this, though? Well, we have the Rite of Kindling, stolen from Nito by a necromancer named Pinwheel. The Rite of Kindling allows the undead to further kindle bonfires, in turn allowing more humanity to be offered to the First Flame, letting it last longer. Furthermore, it seems the Clerics of the Way of White wanted the Rite as well, and may be helping Nito. This is evidenced by Paladin Leeroy helping you kill Pinwheel to get the Rite, but then him trying to kill you when you go after Nito. It is an ingenious solution, really. The undead get cursed, and come to Lordran because of the ‘Fate of the Undead’, and the ‘Undead Prophecy’, most likely fabrications by Lord Gwyn in order to fool undead into Kindling the first flame. Along the way, they give more and more fuel to the flame, ensuring it lasts as long as possible. The Darksign is a curse created by Nito in order to draw more Souls and Humanity into the first flame. And once an undead goes Hollow, the Darksign loosens its hold upon the undead, as a Hollow is no use to Nito, and the Undead finally dies.