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What’s up guys, I’m Dave Klein. Today, we’re going to talk about the two star-crossed
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lovers who would forever be remembered by their symbols of their affection for one another.
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Those who would try and defy the odds for a forbidden love… the Prince and Princess
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of Alken and Venn.
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In a time before Drangleic existed, the Kingdoms of Alken and Venn stood on the same land Drangleic
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stands today. “The Kingdoms of Alken and Venn long ago flourished on these very ground.
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They were both founded by the same man, but were reduced to rivalry and spite.”
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Not much is said of these two kingdoms, however, I believe the land of Alken existed where
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Belfry Sol now stands, and the land of Venn existed where Belfry Luna now stands. While
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the two kingdoms were founded by the same man, there was tension between them, and I’d
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imagine like the story of Romeo and Juliet, it was considered taboo to talk to someone
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of the other kingdom.
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There was, however, a Prince in Alken and a Princess in Venn who fell madly in love,
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amidst this turmoil. “To this day, the forbidden love of the
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Prince of Alken and the Princess of Venn manipulates these marionettes.
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Surely, they never imagined that their dolls would outlast their own kingdoms.”
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In order to show their love for one another, they created bells, and bell keepers, in their
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respective kingdoms. “The twin bells symbolize the bond between two lovers who could never
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be united. The bell keepers are their eternal guardians. For this is their love; this is
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their curse.”
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So – why do I think Alken is Belfry Sol and Venn is Belfry Luna? Stay with me here
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as this can get a little confusing…
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“The princess made me to guard the bell of Alken.
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In Alken, the bell of the princess. In Venn, the bell of the prince.”
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I believe the Prince created a bell that was given to the Princess as a gift, that she
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has created marionettes to protect, and resides in Venn. This is the “Bell of Alken” as
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it was made by the Prince, yet it resides with the Princess in Venn.
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“ This is the bell of Alken The Bell belongs to the princess, it do.
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The princess, she made me, yes. Just like so.
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To guard the bell for the Prince’s honor.”
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Remember, the Princess is from Venn. So – it would make sense that the Prince
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Bell would be in Venn, or Belfry Luna.
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Meanwhile, in Alken, the Prince is guarding the Princess Bell.
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“The prince made me to guard the bell of Venn.
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A great not to bring is that I believe the Prince resides in Belfry Sol, and the Princess
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in Belfry Luna. The sun being associated with masculinity, and the moon associated with
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femininity. Gwyndolin – from Dark Souls 1 – was raised as a woman due to his affinity
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with the moon. It seems this theme has continued into Dark Souls 2.
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Now, while the Prince and Princess secretly loved one another, they were never wed…
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and eventually, the Prince was promised to another… A girl infatuated with him.
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“Pst, have you heard? You know why they’re extracting that poison,
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do you? Well, apparently, there’s this monster lady,
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right? And the poison does wonders for her body.
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You know, health, beauty, and that sort of stuff.
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And I thought human women were so petty.
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There’s something I heard from the other prisoners.
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That creature, she was human once, you know? Yeah, in fact, she was wed to that prince
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of that nearby castle. But her husband? She had feelings for another.
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The princess was desperate, and sought eternal beauty.
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Hoping that it would restore the prince’s affection, you see what I mean?
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Before long, the Princesses ire transformed her into a monster.
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Now, listen here, when do you think this all happened?
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Long ago, when this very land was called something else.”
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Mytha, the Baneful Queen was married to a prince of a nearby castle. The Earthen Peak
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adjoins to the Iron Keep, and the Iron Keep contains Belfry Sol, home to the Prince of
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Alken. So – it seems Mytha was married to either the Prince of Alken, or the Iron King.
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According to Mytha’s soul, “Mytha, the Baneful Queen [sought] the King’s affection,
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even poisoning herself to attain beauty, despite the monstrous consequences. All for the compelling
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madness known as love.” Mytha was married to a “King” and became
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the “Baneful Queen”. It seems that Mytha was, indeed married to the Iron King, who
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did not return her affection. Gilligan even quips to the player,
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“That damn hag just can’t let her old flame go.
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She’s gonna get us all burnt.” A clear homage to the Iron King.
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Yet another lover lies in the mix… that of the Covetous Demon (Jabba the Hutt)
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Excuse me, the Covetous Demon. (Covetous Demon footage).
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The Covetous Demon is found within the Earthen Peak, and it’s said “there once was a
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man whose deep affections were unrequited. He transformed into the Covetous Demon, which
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only made him lonelier than ever before.” “That thing ended up as a monstrous fiend,
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what was it to begin with, and why did it never leave the queen? Perhaps it was entranced
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by some perversion of love.”
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Yet another person lies within this love … square? Love… pentagon?
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At this point, this is what we know for sure. The rest is fairly speculative, and I want
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to thank the various people listed who commented on my videos and helped bring this theory
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to my attention. I think it’s a great theory, and makes a lot of sense. So – let’s get
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into it.
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It’s very likely the Prince of Belfry Sol is one-in-the same with the Iron King. While
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there isn’t any concrete evidence to cement this, there are some connections that we can
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find that help support it.
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Given Mytha was said to be in love with both a “Prince” and a “King”, it’s possible
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before the Iron King was a king, he was the Prince of Alken.
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Opening up the doors into the Iron Keep, you’ll notice these are the same doors used at Sinner’s
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Rise, where The Lost Sinner resides – connecting both The Iron Keep with Sinner’s Rise. And
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– bare in mind, the Sinner’s Rise lies within close proximity to Belfry Luna.
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It’s also worth noting that between No-Man’s Wharf and Heide’s Tower of Flame is a broken
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down door that also matches up.
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Going down this rabbit hole a little further –
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As indicated by the iron doors in Sinner’s Rise, it seems possible Sinner’s Rise could
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have been built by the Iron King. If that is the case – do you think the Lost Sinner
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– who, as indicated by her soul description – is a girl – could have possibly been
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the Princess of Venn? Or is this stretching it too far?
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Now, the question arises – what about the Covetous Demon? Was he the Prince from the
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tales of the Prince and Princess? I don’t believe so. According to his soul, “his
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love was unrequited”, and, while the Prince and Princess could “never be united”,
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they did return each others love, and even built bells for each other to symbolize this.
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It seems to me: The Covetous Demon was in Love with Mytha, who was in love with the
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Iron King, who was in love with the Princess of Venn, who returned his love. But – they
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could never be together.
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And, that’s a mouthful.
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So – why do I think Alken is Belfry Sol and Venn is Belfry Luna? Stay with me here
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as this can get a little confusing…
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“The princess made me to guard the bell of Alken.
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In Alken, the bell of the princess. In Venn, the bell of the prince.”
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I believe the Prince created a bell that was given to the Princess as a gift, that she
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has created marionettes to protect, and resides in Venn. This is the “Bell of Alken” as
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it was made by the Prince, yet it resides with the Princess in Venn.
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“ This is the bell of Alken The Bell belongs to the princess, it do.
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The princess, she made me, yes. Just like so.
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To guard the bell for the Prince’s honor.”
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Remember, the Princess is from Venn. So – it would make sense that the Prince
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Bell would be in Venn, or Belfry Luna.
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Meanwhile, in Alken, the Prince is guarding the Princess Bell.
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“The prince made me to guard the bell of Venn.
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In Venn, the bell of the fine Prince. In Alken, the bell of the Princess.”
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But, this is how I interpret it. It gets pretty confusing – so, if you disagree with me,
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let me know and tell me why.
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That wraps up this lore video on the Prince and Princess of Venn and Alken. Who do you
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think the Prince and Princess were – and do you think we meet either of them in the
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game? For more lore and Dark Souls videos, make sure to check out my other content. And,
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I’ll see you guys next time. Peace.