Old Ladies (Fire Keepers)

The Old Ladies, three sisters known as Strowen, Morrel and Griant,^[1] are characters and former Fire Keepers in Dark Souls II. There was also a fourth old lady, who appears in the intro of the game but her name is unknown.

Description[]

The Old Ladies first appeared in the "Cursed" trailer for Dark Souls II. They, along with their servant, Milibeth the Housekeeper, greet the player upon their arrival to Drangleic.^[2]

Strowen is considered the ringleader of the group, and is the first of the Old Ladies to talk to the player. She is unique, in that she is the only one of the group to drop items upon death (namely six Human Effigies). Morrel is more reserved than Strowen; however, she does participate in the character creation process and occasionally contributes with sardonic comments to the conversation. Griant is the least social of the trio, participating only in the first meeting with the player.^[1]

Notes[]

Killing any of the Old Ladies or Milibeth will prevent the use of the Soul Vessel, as any left alive will refuse to speak anymore. Once the player has been absolved of their sins, they will speak once more.
Although killing Milibeth will yield 3 Human Effigies, it is better to instead return later in the game after getting the King's Ring and then speak to Strowen, who will give the player 6 Human Effigies.
The three fire keepers are symbolically representative of The Fates (Moirai^[3]) of ancient Greek myth; associated by symbols of weaving, threads, fate, death and blindness. Equivalent deities such as the Nordic Norns or Roman Parcae may have also influenced their creation. All of these topics are discussed or alluded to with these three figures and the mythological equivalents listed.