Lordran In Its Prime

Hi everyone!

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this game for me is how lived in the game world feels. In almost every area you can see and feel the history of the place, hundreds and thousands of years worth, which is manifested in the architecture and placement of buildings or monuments.

I'm curious what everyone's thoughts are on the timeline of New Londo/Firelink Shrine/Undead Burg. Were there just normal, happy human beings living in these areas before the bad times showed up? Why was Firelink shrine built? A shrine to what? The memory of a pre-flooded New Londo, or was New Londo built beneath the shrine which had been there first? Did the Upper and Lower burgs exist at the same time as New Londo, or was the whole upper city built after people had to abandon New Londo?

Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on when these places were new and not falling apart!

Bump...too soon?

New londo is an area i would like to know more about. It is said to have a robust culture and i want to know more about it in particular its healing sorcery (only one such spell is found in game).
But on to you question. In regards to age i think New londo was in its heyday just as gwyn went to link the fire. The reason being that gwyn gave some of his soul to its great kings as he went to link the flame and new londo didn't go downhill until kaathe corrupted the kings and knights with greed.
I also think that new londo existed at least for a time while oolicile was a happy enough place although oolicile to the dark first. My reason for this is that opposite to new londo is a kind of blocked off tunnel with new londo style arcutecture and this tunnel seems to have led to oolicile via what would become the darkroot basin. I think that new londo blocked this tunnel to prevent the cretures of oolicile from attacking them.
I think that new londo existed before the burg as it is slightly worse shape. Most of its wood has rotted and some stone structures have collapsed. In the burg very few things have collapsed. only a few bridges and stairs which to me look to have happened in a fight not by natrual causes. The burg appears to have been full of normal humans but some turned undead. And they were sent down to the depths. eventually the undead came back up and had a fight with the humans and won. This would explain such things as the barricaded doors and blocked stareways. Also there are carts and barrels in the burg which have surived the years. I think the burg has been in its current state for fewer than 100 years.
hope this helped.

I really like your theories, sam. Well done!

I want to know what Izalith was like in its prime. Was there lava there before the bed of chaos? Is there a reason its underground, similarly to the Tomb of Giants? How were the statues also mutated? Why do the statues float like balloons? Why do the statues look so similar to the three asylum demons? WHAT IS WRONG WITH IZALITH'S STATUES?!!?

Yep the statues are strange. chaos only seems to affect living things and yet the statues are alive. I think they might have been part of isiliths origional defences that have gone haywire over the years because they breath fire as a creation of the fire witches would do. I also think the lava was there before the chaos bacause it is underground - where lava is natrually found - and because lava being firey connects it to the witches of fire. Also take a look at the charred lava ring (or whatever its called). If memory serves it says the ring was crafted to help the witches brother because he couldnt walk on lava. ie there was lava before for him to want to walk on.

The Orange Charred Ring was not built for the witches' brother to walk on lava, it was built to lesser his pain. He had a sort of disease that made lava come out of his wounds. After he lost his ring, he became Ceaseless Discharge.

What I really wonder about Izalith is, what the heck is that circular structure you see on your left when you first enter Demon Ruins? Some have speculated that is the arena in which you fight Bed of Chaos. But I seriously doubt that's true.

The cone is the roof above Izalith, the circular wall supporting it can be seen at the edges of the lava area with all the dragon leg creatures.