For a franchise as unforgiving as Dark Souls, it's strange to find NPCs that are as friendly to the player as Solaire of Astora. After fighting dozens of hostile enemies and bosses, the player is met with a courteous character that simply wants to help the player while on his quest to find his own sun.
Everything about this character is iconic among Dark Souls fans, from his signature armor to the way he greets players when summoned. While a rather simple character, Solaire has plenty of small facts about him that some fans might have overlooked. From the origins of his gesture to potentially becoming a sandworm, here are 10 facts players might not know about Solaire in Dark Souls. Be warned: this article contains spoilers for the original Dark Souls.
10 He's Searching For His Own Sun
Solaire is much like the player in that he has a simple goal he wishes to accomplish. While the player looks towards ringing the two Bells of Awakening, Solaire wishes to find his own sun. Becoming as grossly incandescent as his ancestors is all he wishes to achieve, a fitting goal for a Warrior of Sunlight.
This goal ends up morphing into a triumphant victory or absolute tragedy based on how players handle his questline.
9 He Uses Standard Equipment
For someone that frequently mentions the sun, many would suspect that Solaire's equipment would be blessed and highly upgraded. On the contrary, Solaire uses above-average weapons and armor with no enchantments or peculiar enhancements to them.
The iconic sun logo on his armor and shield was painted by Solaire himself, and the raw strength Solaire shows is solely from his training and not from any gear benefits.
8 He's Part Of The Warriors Of Sunlight
The Warriors of Sunlight are a unique Covenant in Dark Souls that are focused on cooperative play and helping other players. Helping other players as a phantom or "summon" is a core part of this Covenant, making them one of the only friendly Covenants in the game.
Solaire's charming and friendly demeanor is likely a large reason as to why this Covenant is so popular and would go on to be included in Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3.
7 He Can Link The Fire (If You Help Him)
Solaire's questline can go one of two ways. Players can either help Solaire in obscure ways to keep him on his quest of finding his sun, or allow the Warrior of Sunlight to become consumed by his own aspirations. For players that perform the former, it is possible for Solaire to link the fire in his realm.
This is possible if the player helps Solaire through his entire questline and is human right before the final boss fight. Since Solaires believes in linking the fire, his summon sign should appear near Gwyn's arena and allow him to find the flame he has been searching for since he became undead.
6 It's Possible To Save Solaire
As for preventing Solaire from becoming insane, players will need to go through a rather obscure side path in Lost Izalith to prevent the Sunlight Maggots from latching onto him. Joining the Chaos Servents Covenant and providing Quelaag's Sister 30 Humanity will open a unique door that reveals multiple Sunlight Maggots. Kill them all, defeat the Bed of Chaos, then return to this location to meet a depressed Solaire.
Alternatively, players can also choose not to talk with Solaire at Anor Londo and progress through Lost Izalith as normal, reaching the room filled with Maggots and killing them without risking Solaire's sanity. Once defeated, talk to Solaire and continue his quest. Either way, this will allow Solaire to finally achieve his goal by defeating Gwyn and linking the first flame at the end of the game.
5 He Has A Canon Legacy
It seems that the canonical ending for Solaire is that he linked the fire in his realm. His impact can be felt throughout the two sequels with small nods to his famous emote and unique personality. The Sunlight Spear in Dark Souls 2 mentions Solaire, indirectly using his iconic phrases. Certain Miracles mention Gwyn's "grossly incandescence," a reference to Solaire's famous quote.
As for Dark Souls 3, Solaire's armor can be found alongside his iconic Covenant. It seems linking the fire was all it took to keep his Covenant relevant for the rest of the trilogy.
4 He Floats
Unrelated to Dark Souls lore, Solaire of Astora floats above the ground slightly when players talk to him. This is especially noticeable when players first speak to him in Undead Burg.
Apparently, From Software supposedly did this to make Solaire appear taller without having to change his character proportions. The sun's incandescence is likely irrelevant as to why Solaire can break the laws of physics, though players can't help but jokingly declare that to be canon.
3 "Praise The Sun!" Actually Came From Demon's Souls
"Praise the Sun!" is a common phrase amongst Souls fans. In context, it's the name of the iconic gesture that Solaire uses to greet players that summon him. But believe it or not, the gesture has ties to Demon's Souls. When the player wore the Ring of Sincere Prayer in that game, the casting animation for Miracles was replaced with something eerily similar to the Praise the Sun gesture.
So why was such an iconic gesture locked behind a ring? It's because certain higher-ups at the studio thought it was "uncool." Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of both Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, ended up implementing the expression in an obscure way to keep this symbolic gesture in the game. It returned in Dark Souls in the form of Solaire, and it's stuck with the fanbase ever since. It goes to show that higher-ups don't always know what's best.
2 He Willingly Became Undead For His Quest
Perseverance is a core part of Dark Souls, both in beating it and the story's themes. Many of the NPCs in the game have given up. The Crestfallen Warrior in Firelink Shrine downright calls the player a fool for attempting to complete Oscar's request. On that note, this is what makes Solaire so unique.
He is dedicated to completing his goal no matter the cost. He went as far as to become undead to make his way to Lordran. Even with how unforgiving Lordran is, Solaire is still willing to assist players in defeating their bosses while following through on his own goals. Few characters in Dark Souls have the same combination of determination and insanity that Solaire has in spades.
1 There Are Many Crazy Lore Theories About Solaire
Insanity is just the tipping point of some of the community's theories as to Solaire's reason for finding his own sun in the first place. Many believed that he was Gwyn's long lost firstborn son, but Dark Souls 3 debunked this with the Nameless King.
Some players also speculate that the Carthus Sandworm that appears in the Smouldering Lake in Dark Souls 3 is also the remains of Solaire after the Sunlight Maggot took over his body. There is little evidence going either for or against this theory, resulting in it being a large inside joke amongst the community. What is most likely is that Solaire of Astora is a simple man that proved the world wrong by following his dreams and, with the help of the Chosen Undead, achieving his goals.