I was born from the bones of a dragon. Made by a sorcerer named Aldia. I did not come out as intended, though. He had wanted a female dragon for his male dragon to trick fate into thinking the Age of Ancients could return and break the curse of the Undead. But fate knew better and gave him me instead. He locked me away in the Dragon Aerie. I was just a lost child. The Ancient Dragon took me in and named me Shanalotte. I eventually felt happy with the Ancient Dragon taking care of me. But one day, a feather fell from the sky and into my hands. It was the first time I saw one. It made me start to wonder what was out there.Knowing Aldia was trying to create dragons and with Shanalotte saying herself “I was born of dragons, contrived by men. By ones who would cozen fate herself... They are the ones who created me. But they failed. I did not come out as intended.” it’s safe to assume Aldia created her. Since the Ancient Dragon in Dragon Shrine isn’t a real dragon (he drops a Soul of a Giant when killed and both Shalquoir and Nashandra hint at the fact that he’s not a real dragon), I have to think that Aldia did succeed at making a dragon, so why would he try a second time and fail? I think he wanted to make both a male and female so they could reproduce and trick an Age of Ancients into starting to break the curse. As for her name, she says the dragon gave it to her: “My name is Shanalotte. The dragon gave me this name, for I was born with none.” Lastly, the fact that she’s trapped and a feather made her imagine the world outside is in the Aged Feather description “The child of the dragon, sequestered away from the world, imagined a world of boundless possibilities from the mere sight of a feather.”
Over the years, the Ancient Dragon told me stories about the world. He taught me about the curse of the Undead. I decided the only way I would be free, was if I could prove to Aldia I could still break the curse even if I had been a mistake. Thanks to the Ancient Dragon’s knowledge, I was able to learn how to manifest my form anywhere in the world and speak to the Undeads that made their way to Majula. We made a plan on how to direct the Undeads to successfuly light the Fire. They would need the Four Great Ones’s souls to be able to be strong enough to light the Fire. But on top of that, they needed to lure out Nashandra and beat her because she would simply take away the Great Souls before they could light the Fire. For that, they would need what she originaly wanted when coming to Drangleic: the Giant’s Kinship. The Ancient Dragon was able to make an Ashen Mist Heart that would let the Undeads go into the dead Giant’s memories and get the Kinship. With all of these powerful things, Nashandra would come out of hiding and the Undead would be able to beat her, light the Fire, and break the curse.This part is pretty easy to explain. The only thing I had to presume was her manifesting herself. Since she says “Bearer of the curse, it was my own manifestation that led you here.” when you talk to her in Dragon Aerie, I figured she must’ve been stuck there and had to manifest herself to be able to speak to you. The rest of her plan is basically what you go through while playing the game to get to the end and since she’s the one leading you all the way, I presumed it was her idea to do all this.
I spent many years manifesting myself to Majula to speak to the Undeads, over and over again. Either they didn’t take the quest, abandoned it far too soo, or became Hollow from dying too much to the enemies on their path. I even learned how to graft Estus Shards to an Estus Flask to help them out! I started to be known as a Fire Keeper because of that. I was also called a Muse because I kept inspiring Undeads into the quest. When my hope of getting free started to fade, I met another Undead and gave him my usual speach. I watched him make his way to Heide’s Tower of Flame, the path leading to the Lost Sinner, the first Old One. After several days, he came back with the Great Soul! I started having hope again. Maybe this one was the one that would set me free. I saw him go from one place to another. Coming back to me once in a while to help him get stronger. The fact that she’s been speaking to many Undeads is simply extrapolated from the fact that she says she has “frail hope”. She also says “Those who come to Drangleic seeking salvation soon lose hope, and turn Hollow. It happens to them all, sooner or later.” There’s also Saulden that seems to hint at the fact that he too has tried to break the curse, but has lost hope. And we know she’s been doing this for a while because she says “Long have I awaited one such as you, one who might shatter the shackles of fate.” As for her being known as a Muse and/or Firekeeper, that’s Sorcerer Navlaan who informs us of these names: “ I want you to kill the girl in Majula known as the Muse. They say that she is the last Fire Keeper. But they say a lot of things...” We know she can’t be a Fire Keeper since she’s not tied to the bonfire in Majula. She pops up everywhere.
He eventualy gathered up all the Great Souls. I directed him to the Castle where I knew he would meet Nashandra and gain her interest. I waited for him to get the King’s ring and then manifested myself at the entrance of the crypt to point him in the direction of Aldia’s Keep where he would find the entrance to my prison, the Dragon Aerie. After all he had gone through, I was certain he would defeat the Guardian Dragon and set me free from this place. When he got to me, I lead him to the Ancient Dragon so that he could receive the Ashen Mist Heart. I knew it would be difficult because of the guards that were under Aldia’s control, but I also had complete faith in this Undead now.All of this section is just what you go through when you play the game and where you meet the Emerald Herald. The only thing I’m speculating on is the fact that the guards in the Dragon Shrine are under Aldia’s control. I’m assuming this because in the description of their armor it says “Something dark indeed eats away at the drakekeepers, eternal guardians of the shrine.” This information combined with the description of the Guardian Dragon Soul, “Do the dragons watch over the land of their own will, or are they in the grip of one of Alida’s spells?”, leads me to believe the drakekeepers are also under Aldia’s control.
While he made his way up to the Ancient Dragon, I made my way to the Throne of Want. I wanted to be sure he would get there, defeat Nashandra, and light the Fire. After waiting several days, he finally arrived and I told him my story. I warned him about Nashandra so he wouldn’t be caught off guard, and let him pass. I watched him defeat the Throne Watcher and the Throne Defender. I watched Nashandra appear before him and I started to get scared. What if he wasn’t strong enough after all? What if, Nashandra would win and get the Great Souls and the Giant’s Kinship? What would she do with the Flame? I anxiously watched their fight. It seemed to last forever. Luckily, the Undead was successful in defeating Nashandra! As I watched him make his way to the throne, I reminded him what would happen once he lit the Fire. When I saw a little hesitation in his step, I gave him one finaly push to give him the confidence to sit on the throne. As he did so, I finally felt myself free from the destiny Aldia had made for me.This last section is, again, only what happens while you play through the game, but written in the point of view of the Emerald Herald.
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