The Thrones of the Sovereigns.
“My feet are firmly anchored here, for I am a Lord and this is my Throne” - Ludleth.
The five Thrones of the Lords of the Embers they are the symbol of their enormous power and, above all, of theirs eternal suffering. As honorable as the sacrifice Way to bind the Fire it is not at all. As mentioned in the first part of the article (which you can find HERE), the Flame consumes the soul of the Sovereign, burns his body and destroys any type of personality, making the Lord of the Embers an empty shell devoid of any memory and will. The Lords almost seem to cling to the last, 
true intent before self-immolation; the Guardians of the Abyss they continue to attack whatever has a minimum of contagion derived, in fact, from the Abyss itself, even going so far as to massacre each other, mutually feeling the inner darkness; Aldrich he continues to pursue everything he has always done in his life: swallowing everything, accumulating more and more power. Yhorm he remains seated on his throne in the Profaned Capital maintaining the position of Monarch, without however any memory, not even recognizing his faithful friend, attacking him without hesitation. Such are the Lords of the Embers, honorable and at the same time empty beings, nothing but the shadow of what they once were. Their Thrones represent the dark picture of their Curse.
"If the Lords refuse to return to their Thrones, let them do it as Embers" - description: Embers of a Lord.
When the Flame is about to go out, the Lords wake up returning to their places of origin, preventing us from accessing where the First Flame and bind it. It is up to us to bring them back to their thrones, one way or another, even if that means reduce them to little more than ashes, trampling on their honor and desecrating their bodies. To gain access to the First Flame, we do not necessarily need the Lords as beings but theirs Flames (souls), using extreme means to "remember" their duty. It doesn't matter what they did in life, what they became, how many evil or charitable deeds they did: a Lord has the task of staying on the Throne no matter what happens, just as it is our duty to bind the Flame for a "greater good".
Ludleth, the Outcast
Unlike the other Lords of the Embers, Ludleth of Courland remained on his throne. It could be said that his last will was to bind the fire consciously, accepting any kind of consequence on his skin and his essence. He repeats several times that he is a Lord of the Embers, and as such he must act and be: sitting on his throne waiting for the moment when we will bring all the Lords of the Embers to their Thrones, giving us the priceless Flame of his own free will, conscientious of the his duty.
Before becoming an Ember Lord, Ludleth was a student of soul transposition, forbidden art originally from Courland used to transform a soul into a weapon with great powers, directly proportional to the size of the soul used. Ludleth was therefore a master of this art before binding himself, and was probably exiled because of his enormous potential and the threat that came from this talent.
Once we find the eyes of the First Fire Keeper in Forgotten Tombs, he will explain what they actually are, making us realize that he too has found them before us and warning us of their danger. These eyes, in fact, belonged to the First Guardian of Fire, which after being tied to the flames was able to glimpse beyond the extinguishing of the First Flame, sensing the darkness beyond it. This led to the removal of these eyes from the Guardian's skull, causing the blindness of all other Fire Keepers that they succeeded, to avoid them witnessing such a vision of despair, suggesting that the First Flame itself could be directly related to the darkness and neutrality from which it originated.
Upon learning this truth, Ludleth bound the First Flame which made him as we can see him upon our arrival at the Altar of the Binding, or a Lord of the Embers. Ludleth may be one of the few Lords to have consciously rekindled the Flame, without his "decision"Was forced by dangers that threatened the world of the sky of which he was a part. Few others became Lords of the Embers for the "simple" extinguishing of the flame, others like the chosen undead that we interpret in the first chapter of the series or the "next Monarch”Always personified by us in Dark Souls II.
A further theory must be clarified: Ludleth may have remained on his throne since without legs and this would have prevented him from escaping like the other Lords. The very fact that you keep repeating phrases about the duty of a Sovereign might suggest that besides wanting convince us of this dark truth, he wants first of all to convince himself of his current situation, almost overwhelmed by despair and resignation.
Lothric, the Holy King
I do not deny that I had more of a problem understanding the history of these two principles, as the more I read descriptions about them, the less I understood them. If you had continued to think in that way, right now you would have had in your hands a very untrue and objective article (even if it is based on personal theories). In the darkest moment, I could count on the GREAT assistance of the truth Sabaku no Maiku (just him), who as usual proved to be a profound connoisseur of the lore of Dark Souls, telling me the reality of the facts and saving me from dark ignorance and misunderstanding. After this brief opening then, we can finally delve into the history of the two principles.
Master Sabaku thank you… really.
"Holy King Lothric, the last hope of his lineage“, Says the phrase behind his Throne. Throne placed in the center and above the others not by chance, as if to underline its true importance in this twisted world and symbolize its titanic power. Everything present in Dark Souls III leads us to reason about the greatness of this Lord: starting from the name of the kingdom, shared by the prince himself, the realm of Lothric itself is placed at the center of this collapse of past worlds. All of course very glorious and honorable, but untrue: Prince Lothric, in fact, is puny and cursed. I assume you are wondering why this is so important, but wait, I haven't told you the most important part yet: Lothric, despite his throne, his importance in the kingdom and his fame, He is NOT a Lord of the Embers.
The royal family of Lothric Castle was indoctrinated by King Seeker, Frampt (the angel) the Primordial Serpent, the same being that he suggested to the chosen undead the way of binding the Flame in the first chapter. Always looking for new ones sacrifices to offer to the First Flame, prompting him to climb the royal hierarchy of the kingdom in search of a "sacrificial victim"And becoming the direct adviser of the King Oceiros, father of Lothric and former monarch of the kingdom. This led Oceiros and Frampt to perform terrible experiments on the Queen's handmaid, Gertrude: in fact she could be one of Gwynevere's daughters (thanks to Sabaku), daughter of Lord Gwyn, the First Lord of the Embers. Precisely for this connection of blood, experiments were carried out on her, completely tearing her apart in order to make Prince Lothric the Supreme Bond able to surpass all previous ones. This "transposition”Led Lothric to suffer from a very serious curse that also affected his twin Lorian, beloved brother of the Prince, making him crippled and mute due to the deep bond between the two.
Lothric, disgusted by these means without restraint and mercy, yes refused to become a (or IL) Lord of the Embers, fleeing the castle with his brother Lorian waiting for the flame to go out. Perhaps this is what caused the collapse of cycles, the rejection of Lothric, or the limit of the Flame even in being bound. Or maybe both. It is therefore up to us to make Lothric a true Lord of the Embers, facing the Twin Princes in a bloody battle that will reduce Lothric into Embers, bringing the ending completely opposite to the idea of the same Lord; but in the end we are doing nothing but the "game of the Gods".
The Throne itself, the name shared with the kingdom and the affection given by family members were nothing more than subterfuges of Frampt and Oceiros in order to induce Lothric to perform the Ultimate sacrifice. Lothric, however, has always seen beyond his nose, even one step away from death, confronting us with the reality of being just puppets.
"Creature of ashes, remember my words: the curse has not abandoned you ...“- Lothric.
With the obtaining of the last Ember, the Flames of the Five Lords of the Embers come together in us, allowing us to enter the place where it all originated: the Furnace of the First Flame. Everything will have an end… Welcome to the end times.
“What are you really looking for? Light, Dark, or something completely different? " - Aldia, Dark Souls II.
The end of the journey
Finally we came here, facing creatures of all kinds, majestic and monstrous, honorable and cowardly, gods and demons, through the door that leads to the First Flame. There Furnace of the First Flame, origin of every concept of division and contrast: light and darkness, life and death, good and evil; the true source of creation.
Watching over this sacred place we find the supreme being more powerful and important than all the others: theSoul of the Embers, physical manifestation of the very essence of suffering endured by ALL the Lords of the Embers over the past ages. If there is a true God in the cosmology of all the chapters of the series, it is this divinity. It is, literally, the fusion of all the powers of the Lords of the Embers in a single, epochal entity, in order to protect the Flame from beings not deserving to show themselves in its presence. However, we too have gained power beyond that of a deity, having made our own Flames of the five Lords of the Embers.
The Soul of the Embers proves to be really this irreducible fusion, managing to be able to use attacks of any kind: from blows with a heavy sword, spear and scimitar up to casting spells, miracles and pyromancies of all kinds, modeling their own legendary weapon each time , such Binding of Fire Blade, spiral sword extracted from the First Flame. When the soul of the Embers seems to almost fall after a deadly fight, it shows us its true strength, appealing to Gwyn's powers, the First Lord of the Embers, members of the same God. As the first Lord did in the past, this supreme warrior is also ready for anything to stop us, believing us to be a threat to the Flame, or perhaps testing our worth. After a legendary battle, the Soul of the Embers will fall at our feet defeated, but is it really a victory?
As far as we know, whatever decisions we make we will lose in any case: by binding the First Flame we will become a Lord of the Embers, in order to maintain balance in a world at its limit; let the flame go out it means bringing the world back to its neutral state, no longer any disparity, no longer any joy or pain, only emptiness. There is also a third way: dethrone the First Flame and become the new hub of the world, proclaiming himself the Dark Lord. The choice of the future is up to us, and it is the least that can be granted to us after our sacrifice. Make your choice, for the future that you think is the best for everyone.
With this second part, therefore, we have reached the conclusion of the special on the Lords of the Embers. I can only thank you for reading my words about the history of this world, told in a silent and subtle way, but present in every moment and every step taken on the soil of Lothric. In case you would like to know more about Dark Souls III, below I leave you the links of our review, the guide to the trophies / achievements and tips for novices:
Dark Souls III - Review
Dark Souls III - Trophy / Achievement Guide
Dark Souls III - Tips for novices
A final thanks to all of you who have come this far and, in particular, to the great Sabaku no Maiku, who very kindly answered some of my doubts about the intricate lore of the game, allowing me to write a complete article in its entirety!
