Little remains of the beautiful Latria. The kingdom formerly known for its scholars and magical arts was the pasture of corruption. The screams of the prisoners is the only thing that escapes the place.
We have analyzed Miyazaki’s work and his influence on the video game on many occasions. His effort in making a career change in his late thirties is certainly worthy of praise in his country where this type of action is perceived negatively. Every risky decision he made from that moment led to Demon’s Souls, a title that would break the mold in the RPG genre.
We could narrow down the difficulty of Demon’s Souls to its dungeons. Stretches of convoluted and unattainable architecture that give off a Lovecraftian atmosphere. The player fights scattered worlds where the absence of light and traps are almost as fearsome as the monsters that occupy their rooms. Difficulty increases by not having save points until defeating the corresponding boss. Some shortcuts can ease grief, but it is not enough when failure hits us over and over again.
The kingdom of Boletaria and its border areas hide a tragic history. A devilish mist covered the world by the ambition of King Allant of Boletaria, who made a pact with the Elder to acquire the forbidden knowledge of souls. After his audacity, the demons seized power. In the new age of darkness, only dusty memories of what were once majestic kingdoms remain. The objects offer us touches of alliances, influential groups and leaders of those lands. Fortunately, all is not lost yet; some individuals cling to their humanity while stoically waiting for a miracle. Others prefer to trade with souls to maintain their sanity longer.
Within the universe that Miyazaki built, the blank lines are profuse. He placed it in the hands of the community to complete the story through the use of imagination. This is how veterans have established a solid lore that is passed down from old to new players.
Disturbing architecture
Torre de Latria is one of the locations that arouses the most admiration in the Souls saga. Miyazaki himself confessed that it is one of his favorite levels. The place evokes a twisted daydream based on the classic terrors of literature. A construction of narrow corridors and stairs to nowhere. Piranesi’s Impossible Prison Engravings were probably study material for the architecture of the Latria Tower.
In the midst of structural chaos, darkness and silence reign. As we enter the cell sections, the pleas of the cadaverous prisoners disrupt our progress. And in the distance, the bells ring out calling for prayer. The night remains unchanged in the Prison of Hope.
Miyazaki was actively involved in the entire level development process, including 3D design. Nor did the level boss, the Old Monk, neglect another indispensable piece of Torre de Latria, both for its background and for the particularity of being a player who awaits the poor unwary behind the fog. It’s no wonder he’s the Japanese designer’s favorite boss.
Before falling from grace, Latria was a glorious land of sages highly skilled in the magical arts of the soul. Unlike other popular beliefs, magic was used with restraint and goodwill within its walls. The ivory tower was the palace where the queen lived with her husband. The great building stood proudly in the kingdom and housed numerous royal family rooms. Attached to it was a multi-story prison and a church. However, an unknown event caused the queen to order the exile of her partner. Nothing of this was known until later, when the demonic mist erased all traces of humanity. The queen’s husband felt a deep call that came from a golden garment that ordered him to take possession of it. He could not object. He dressed in the glittering robe and madness immediately consumed him. The old man returned to Latria accompanied by terrible demons to claim vengeance. This is how he imprisoned the queen and her family in the cells of La Prisión de la Esperanza.
The Prison of Hope
“A vengeful old man killed the queen and imprisoned the rest of the nobility. Throughout the prison echo the bitter cries of its inmates, tormented by inhuman guards.”
In one of the cells we are covered by a merchant who offers interesting articles. But also significant information about Latria. “I’ve lived through better times. I belonged to royalty and I still have things to prove it,” says the emaciated woman. “Before there were more people trapped, but they went crazy and went up of their own free will. Redemption? That is something that does not exist.” As we then observe, climbing or ascending represents being trapped by the gargoyles of the church to the next area and there being part of the Old Monk’s experiments to create new demons.
The mysterious woman’s deteriorated clothes still have ostentatious details, which raises suspicions that it could be the queen herself. Although if we dig into the code of Demon’s Souls she is identified simply as “noble woman.”
In another dialogue, the information gathered in the archstone, specifically about how the queen banished her depraved husband and his return with an army of demons, tells in his words: “They looted the great Latria, land of the learned, and they locked us up here. Since then they feed on our souls […]”. What kind of depravity did the man carry out to get expelled? Perhaps his terrible experiments with soul power predated the arrival of demons, or perhaps it was something more banal like infidelity.
Returning to the dialogues with the merchant, before concluding he throws a valuable comment on the next boss: “he may die but not for long.” We could even imagine that the woman knows the liar located on the balcony of the chief’s room, and that she saw with her own eyes the resurrection of the False Idol. There are speculations that place her next to the magician who carried the silver catalyst, who died at the opposite end of the liar.
“A silver catalyst for casting spells. It is only awarded to magicians of the distinguished school of Yormedaar. A peculiar enchantment increases the maximum MP of the wearer ”.
About the Yormedaar school, the silver crown of a dungeon also describes the same institution. Also, that name appears on the archstone fragment in the chief’s room. Surely the queen’s magical power was unmatched. In fact, the Monumental praises the intelligence of the sovereign and quotes her as “the wise queen of the great ivory tower.” These elements suggest that the queen was educated by the school of sages in the arts of the soul. Throughout the level we discover more clues that connect to this theory. First, in the archstone “Queen of the Tower” there were symbols of study. Later we see similar images in the stained glass windows of the church. It is said that the school could have achieved such dominance that it formed the royal Yormedaar lineage.
On the other hand, if we take a quick look at the aristocratic class in the title, we can extract that the school was open to students from other regions: “A descendant of royalty who has officially learned magic.” This detail is supported by the avatar’s starting kit, a mage outfit from the Yormedaar school. Be that as it may, the highest authority was the queen, elevated to the figure of an idosa by the extensive iconography of the kingdom, which raises the hypothesis that Latria was a matrialcal society.
Despite building a highly qualified society and having the backing of the people, no court is free from treason. Political networks frequently resulted in murders, so it is not surprising to stumble upon a murderer’s mask or the dagger for the same purpose called “Baby’s Claw.”
In the Prison of Hope the prisoners are guarded by grisly guards until eternity. The only silver lining they retain is in a False Idol with the appearance of the queen, widely loved by her subjects and revered as a goddess. The Old Monk could have used his powerful soul to create the demon.
“A church consecrated to an idol that imitated the queen gave hope to the prisoners, but a dark evil lurked, waiting to end their fragile consolation.”
The prison also holds subjects who dared to go beyond its limits. Freke and Lord Rydell are other NPCS trapped in the cells. The one who seems to know Latria’s history best is Sage Freke, captured by the tentacled monsters. Upon his release, Freke shares the history of the royal family and makes various references to their defeat at the hands of the “golden old man.” From his words we extract that the sorcerer was a wise man of the Yormedaar school, but was captured when the reign succumbed to darkness. Already in the nexus he mentions the “golden elder of Latria” as one of the three humans who chose to transform into demons.
The Ivory Tower
“In the Ivory Tower, prisoners hang from cages, their skin sewn together to create fleshy monstrosities. It was the work of the new lord of Latria, an old man who ceased to be human long ago, and who sought to create demons for himself.” .
In the center of the tower hangs a great heart, or what is the same, a factory of creepy beings created through the wretched souls of the prisoners who pray at the top to keep the organ beating. After breaking the chains, macabre abominations with human faces arise. Although his masterpiece is none other than Chief Skinner.
At the highest point is the Yormedaar Throne Room. The Old Monk (Ancestral Monk in the PS5 version), that is to say, the queen’s husband, waits patiently at that location. The passage of time has left his body in a decrepit state, and the yellow robe is the only thing that keeps him alive. Our entry into the zone triggers it to detach itself from it and it breathes its last breath. We are the new guest. It is time to corrupt our soul.
The Yellow King
“After taking revenge, the old man withered, maddened by the golden robe that controlled his body. Too weak to become the recipient of a demon, he was completely absorbed by the soul of it.”
Various items mention the cursed power of the golden outfit. For example, the turban we get from defeating him, the insane catalyst, and some related spells and miracles.
References to objects of power are extensive in the mystery library. For Old Monk Miyazaki explores Robert W. Chambers’ compilation of stories from The Yellow King. The first texts speak of a work with the same name that brings despair to anyone who reads its fragments or sees it performed. However, the cursed work inevitably attracts readers.
They say that every legend has a part of truth and another of fiction. We do not know for sure how Latria, the cradle of scholars and great magicians, saw its prosperous history cut short. The ruins and objects lost in time speak of struggle, and of defeat. The ivory queen could not stand against the dangerous power of souls, and like many other sovereigns, she lost her life in her own kingdom. Perhaps the hero is the one chosen to free Latria from the demons and thus give eternal rest to those who still plead for her soul.
