Corvian: "When the world rots, we set it to fire"

"for the sake of the next world."

"It's the one thing we do right"

"Unlike those fools on the outside"

(Chuckling)

(Vaati) The Painted World is an allegory for the outside.

It's a mirror we hold up, to reveal the truth.

Even if things are a little backwards.

Think of what this Corvian just said.

(Vaati) "When the world rots, we set it afire..

for the sake of the next world"

A parallel to this is linking the fire at the end of the game

Which is very similar in concept to the fire that burns down the painting

The Linking of the Fire chases away the darkness just like the fire of Ariandel
burns away the rot

Both worlds have this tradition

of setting themselves aflame, to rekindle a cycle of rebirth.

However, consider this next line.

The Corvian also say's (Vaati) "It's the one thing we do right"

"Unlike those fools on the outside"

And that's strange right?

Because last I checked, those fools on the outside they loved linking the fire.

They have an entire kingdom devoted to it.

So, why is this Corvian saying that they don't do it right in the outside world?

That doesn't really match up.

If these parallels are correct, then surely they are doing it right.

Let's try again.

Perhaps rot isn't the parallel to darkness.

It could make more sense, instead, for rot to be representative of the never-ending
cycle of light and dark.

Representative of stagnation.
And in this comparison, the Father bleeds to satiate the flame.

Just like the Unkindled is sacrificed to satiate the flame on the outside.

And at the end, a new Painting is created.

But this time, it's created with the Dark Soul of Man as the Pigment

Just like the first flame can be usurped by the Dark Soul of Man

Finally allowing the world to progress to the next stage

I like this set of parallels a little bit more, don't you?

Corvian: "I am so terribly frightened of timidly rotting away"

"Like those..."

"like those fools on the outside"

Those on the outside can be drawn into the painting and

Despair is the one thing they all have in common

One such example is the first Corvian we meet upon our arrival

Corvian: "We've all seen terrible things"

"But you're safe now"

"Let it ease your burden"

"Ariandel will make a fine home for you"

"So, go on ahead"

"Find one for yourself"

"A sweetly rotting bed to lie upon"

(Vaati): There are three types of Corvian we talk about in this video

There's the humanoid ones that look a lot like Father Ariandel

There's the Corvian Knights and there's the Crawling Corvians, both of which look
much more crow-like

But the name "Corvian" is probably derived from the Latin word "corvus"

which means "crow" and these black feathers are what they all have in common

We get no real clue as to the origins of the humanoid Corvians

Though, they always reminded me of this quote by Nakamura in the Dark Souls I
design works

where he talks about the Crows of Velka

So this developer says about the other Crows

he says: "I like to think that they were humans who wanted to fly so badly"

"that they sprouted wings but rather than their skeletons evolving over time"

"they instead twisted their limbs into unnatural positions, forcing their bodies
into a bird-like shape"

and that's how I've always imagined them

It really reminded me of the contortions they pull to grow wings

These humanoids Corvians, they're described as having bodies, souls and weapons

that are tainted, through and through

Wretched beings with no place to go

So it makes sense that they'd find their way into the Painted World

and they rejoice upon finding a new home here

What sets them apart, though, is that these are the only creatures that listen to
tales of the Painted World

told on the outside by their Storytellers

We know that Forlorn can be pulled into the Painted World

And we've talked about two cases of that already

And we know it's possible for some beings inside to leave also

So are these Corvians how the rot got into the Painting?

Or are they how the rot gets out?

Is there a deeper meaning to their Storytellers

who go out into the world and guide more Corvians into the Painting

by telling stories of the Painted World?

There's a few theories that could spawn from this, maybe

But, one thing is certain

They worship their Mistress of the Painted World

Friede, the first Ash to enter the Painting

and they're not the only ones

This is a Corvian Knight, a killing machine that is functionally identical to those

Crows of Velka that you saw in Dark Souls I's Painted World

And the only piece of information that we have about those Crows of Velka
is a little excerpt from the design works of Dark Souls I

In a response to a question about the Crow Demons

Miyazaki says: "I always thought of the Painted World as somewhere where things go
to escape"

"and the Bird Men are no different"

"They were originally designed as worshipers of the Goddess Velka"

"whose bodies were warped by their devotion"

I think this obsession makes them really interesting characters

So from the very beginning, these creatures were envisioned as having bodies warped
by devotion

And it's impossible to know if Miyazaki still thinks of them as worshipers of Velka

But at the very least, we know that he, at some level, thinks of Velka as related
to crows

and in this Painted World, the devotion of these crow-like figures is directed at
another female deific form

Friede

Their weapons tell us that in their infatuation with Sister Friede

the Corvian Knights swore to protect the Painting from fire

And to this end, took to the execution of their own brethren

You saw their brethren before, they were the crows that were barely alive and they
were crawling through the mud

Rotting, wandering and kept in perpetual terror by the stronger members of their
former family

And it's one of the few sane members of these sad crows who tells us what happened
here

Corvian: "Ohh...oh, finally"

"You have come"

"Oh wonderous ash"

"Grant us our wish"

"Make the tales true"

"and burn this world away"

"My lady must see flame"

"and you have only to show her"

"You are Ash, are you not?"

"Is it not fire that you seek?"

"Surely you've seen the rot that afflicts our world"

"But that witch fooled the good Father"

"and buried the flame"

"After we had all made up our minds, too"

(Vaati) We can learn a lot from these little pieces of dialogue

First, this one:

Corvian: "Surely you've seen the rot that afflicts our world"

"But that witch fooled the good Father"

"and buried the flame"

"After we had all made up our minds, too"

(Vaati) So this tells us that the Corvians made the decision to burn down their
world for the sake of the next Painting to come

This shows that they're very aware of the nature of their own world

and they were rather central to the decision making here

Even on decent terms with the "good Father", as they call him

They blame the witch Friede for fooling Father Ariandel into burying the flame

But another item description says that Father Ariandel and Friede chose rot over
fire together

So maybe she didn't fool him as much as the Corvians would like to believe

The second interesting thing is this line of dialogue:

Corvian: "Make the tales true"

"and burn this world away"

(Vaati) This line made me wonder

Who tells the tales in this world?

Storytelling is obviously a big thing

We learnt that from the Storyteller Corvians in the outside world

But personally, I imagine these stories coming from Father Ariandel himself

And my main bit of evidence for that is when he says:

Father Ariandel: "When the ashes are two, a flame alighteth"

(Vaati) Notice how there's quotation marks around this phrase and shortly
afterwards he says:

Father Ariandel: "Thou'rt Ash, and fire befits thee, of course..."

(Vaati) and the quotation marks are gone

So, here, in phase three of Friede's boss fight

I believe that Ariandel is interpreting the tale the way he wants to

He's saying that Friede's black flame is the flame alighting when the ashes are two

instead of the world burning down when the ashes are two

So maybe he didn't come up with the tales but the tales go as far back as Father
Ariandel

who was the creator of this world

And lastly:

"My lady must see flame"

"and you have only to show her"

The painter that we've taken to calling Aria is known to the Corvians

and clearly they know her as the girl who will usher in the next world, born of
what happens here

So it makes sense then, that Friede would hide her away

It makes sense that we would talk about her next

So subscribe and I'll see you in the next one