Caitha, Goddess of Tears[1] is a mentioned character in Dark Souls II and a mentioned character in Dark Souls III.
Lore[]
Dark Souls II[]
A statue of Caitha inside the Cathedral of the Deep.
In the times and region of Drangleic, Caitha was worshipped as a compassionate deity that is with people in times of tragedy. She was called the "goddess of tears" because she was said to mourn the undeserving dead, shedding tears as red as blood,[2] and those who have lost loved ones, shedding pure tears of blue[3].
However some believed that Caitha was in fact a demoness that guides humans towards misfortune, as her chimes have the ability to cast hexes, a type of dark magic banned in most lands that is rooted in both sorcery and miracles, instead of the miracles tipical of a god[4].
Dark Souls III[]
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The sacred chime of Caitha.
By the times of Lothric, her cult survived through centuries and she became a significant deity of the Way of White, which settled in Carim[5] after Allfather Lloyd was exposed as a fraud and his cult forgotten, with Dark Sun Gwyndolin taking precedence[6]. She accepted the knight Morne as her follower and later he became the apostle of the Archbishop of Carim[7] and his influence spread together with that of his goddess, developing miracles dedicated to Caitha and leading the knights of Carim to adopt his armor and weapons[8].
However, the clerics of Carim also began to freely devote themselves to the creation of forbidden rings[9] and to use chimes that drawn upon the intelligence of the user together with their faith to cast miracles that lean towards the Dark, whose existence is concelead in the name of the Archbishop of Carim for they are anathema[10], implying that the goddess leaves a lot of freedom for her clerics to investigate the Dark. Despite this, Caitha continues to be dedicated to bringing comfort to suffering humans, and the forlorns revere her as their protector[11].
The healing miracle of Caitha.
The Way of White built a cathedral dedicated to the goddess Caitha[12] and with the aim of cleansing humans from the stagnant darkness within them that was becoming an ever-increasing problem[13], using the "sacred and peaceful" body of water on which the structure was built to contain all the remnants from its cleansing rituals[14] and even sent three archdeacons to manage it[15]. However, over time the abominations that arose from the Deep accumulated in the cathedral led to the corruption of the faith of the clerics[16], who abandoned the cult of the goddess and covered her statues, to dedicate themselves to the veneration of the Deep and its Saint Aldrich, Devourer of Gods[17].
Theories[]
- It can be theorized that Caitha is actually a "reformed" and "cleansed" version of Velka, Goddess of Sin, as Carim, a place once associated with the creation of heretical rings[18] and where at least one of her pardoners come from[19], has become the realm that now worships Caitha. Furthermore, forbidden rings obtained thanks to sacrificial rites similar to those of Velka[20] are now produced freely by the clerics of Carim[21]. Finally, the Carim's talismans of Caitha acts similarly to those of Velka, employing the user's intelligence in addition to their faith and also working to produce dark miracles. [22] Again both goddesses are considered witches and demonesses [23] but both dedicate themselves to the suffering of men, in one case forgiving their sins and in the other offering comfort to those in need[24]. In conclusion Caitha must have been a divinity that could have been accepted into the Way of White and not one of the fake ones created in Drangleic that disappeared by the time of Dark Soul III, testifying to the fact that the goddess is also incredibly long-lived to be able to remain active from the times of Drangleic up to those of modern Carim.
Artifacts[]
- Caitha's Chime
- Caitha's Chime (Dark Souls III)
- Red Tearstone Ring (Dark Souls II)
- Red Tearstone Ring (Dark Souls III)
- Blue Tearstone Ring (Dark Souls II)
- Blue Tearstone Ring (Dark Souls III)
- Caressing Prayer
- Caressing Tears
- Denial
- Tears of Denial
References[]
- ↑ Name-engraved Ring Selection.
- ↑ Red Tearstone Ring description.
- ↑ Blue Tearstone Ring description.
- ↑ Caitha's Chime and Dark Hail description.
- ↑ Caitha's Chime (Dark Souls III) and Braille Divine Tome of Carim description.
- ↑ Lloyd's Sword Ring and Undead Hunter Charm description.
- ↑ Morne's Ring description.
- ↑ Caressing Tears and Morne's Set and Morne's Great Hammer description.
- ↑ Bloodbite Ring (Dark Souls II) and Cursebite Ring (Dark Souls III) description.
- ↑ Caitha's Chime (Dark Souls III) description
- ↑ Morne's Ring and Caressing Tears description and Slave Knight Gael's dialogue
- ↑ https://darksouls.fandom.com/wiki/File:Cathedral_Caitha_Statue.png
- ↑ https://darksouls.fandom.com/wiki/File:Cathedral_Deep_Pus_Statue.jpeg
- ↑ Notched Whip and Deep Protection description.
- ↑ Archdeacon Set description.
- ↑ Deep Protection description.
- ↑ Deep Braille Divine Tome description.
- ↑ Bloodbite Ring description
- ↑ Oswald of Carim
- ↑ Ring of Sacrifice description.
- ↑ Bloodbite Ring (Dark Souls III) description.
- ↑ Caitha's Chime and Velka's Talisman description.
- ↑ Vow of Silence and Caitha's Chime description.
- ↑ Mask of Velka and Caressing Tears description.