Should I choose Kaathe or Frampt?

As a veteran Souls player and fanatical lore enthusiast, I‘m here to definitively answer a question of grave importance – when the primordial serpents Kaathe and Frampt both extend a scaly appendage, which hand do you shake? After an exhaustive analysis, I believe siding with Darkstalker Kaathe and bringing an Age of Dark is ultimately the most fascinating and fateful choice for your first Dark Souls playthrough.

Kaathe Offers Forbidden Knowledge and an Alluring Vision of the Future

While Kingseeker Frampt is the safe choice for "keeping the flames lit" and maintaining the status quo, Kaathe‘s promises of an Age of Dark ruled by the origins of man are too tempting for me to resist. The ominous serpent, found in the Abyss after defeating the Four Kings, entices you with forbidden truth and power – no Fire Keeper has ever dared speak of what Kaathe openly reveals. He sees the coming Age of Dark not as an apocalypse, but the next stage in mankind‘s evolution.

As your veteran guide, I live to uncover Dark Souls‘ deepest secrets and experience its most obscured content. Kaathe offers just that, with access to the mysterious Darkwraith covenant, shocking twists on oft-repeated mythology, and an entirely unique ending.

Unraveling the Warped Mythology – Dragons vs Lords vs Abyss

To understand Kaathe‘s grand vision, we must first shine a light on the true origins of the world. As players, we initially take Frampt‘s fable of Lord Gwyn‘s victory over Everlasting Dragons as truth. However, Kaathe reveals the war against the ancient dragons was not as noble as the gods would have you believe.

In the Beginning, the immortal dragons presided over a world of still gray crags and Archvrees. Then Fire came into existence – the First Flame. With it emerged Disparity – light/dark, life/death, etc. From the murky shadows of the Abyss came fragments of Dark, which shaped themselves into humanoid pygmies. They found brave souls, the Lords, to lead them against the dragons. But Kaathe believes it was the Dark Soul, not the Lords, which granted them victory. The dragons fell, the Lords rose to claim their mantle of godhood.

"Your ancestor claimed the Dark Soul and waited for Fire to subside. And soon, the flames did fade, and only Dark remained. Thus began the age of men, the Age of Dark. However…Lord Gwyn trembled at the Dark." – Kaathe

The Lords Feared Humanity‘s True Dark Nature

Lord Gwyn had an obsessive fear of the coming Age of Dark, when the flames would fade and mankind would awaken into their true form. He linked the fire, sacrificing himself and binding humanity, beginning a cursed cycle of linking the flames to preventing mankind from coming into their own. As you discover in Dark Souls 3, this vain pursuit only accelerated the world‘s slow, inevitable entropic decay.

But to Kaathe and his primordial serpent brethren, this cycle interrupted what should been – an age where the origins of man ruled through humanity‘s true Dark nature. And that destiny can still come to pass…through your choice.

To Link the Fire, or Embrace the Abyss – A Matter of Cosmic Perspective

As the Chosen Undead who escapes Undead Asylum, every hero receives a call to action from Frampt – link the flames as Gwyn‘s heir. Should you set aside youthful rebelliousness and dutifully sacrifice yourself to rekindle the First Flame? Or heed the seductive whispers from the dark, spread your wings and shape history according to the grand design destiny intended – an Age of Dark with mankind ruling again.

Which path sounds more riveting? I know mine.

The Allure of the Darkwraith Covenant

Only by placing the Lordvessel in the Firelink Altar for Kaathe instead of Frampt can you gain access to the Darkwraith covenant and learn Lifedrain – one of my favorite sinister spells for stealing humanity from foes. As a Darkwraith, I live to reap those sweet Blood Dregs and sink my chainmail boots deeper into the Abyss.

Through dedicated service and dutiful offerings of humanity to Kaathe, you‘ll gain rare items like the Dark Hand and Darksword. And with the Red Eye Orb, invade to your heart‘s delight and harvest humanity from hosts and phantoms alike!

As this handy table shows, the Darkwraith covenant delivers tempting rewards:

Whereas Frampt simply consumes humanity for petty souls. Lame!

PvP Implications – Darkwraiths Reign Supreme

For pure PvP strength, Darkwraiths dominate as the most popular choice according to community consensus, with one key ability making them so effective:

• No Level Range Limit on Invades (except lowest levels)

So Darkwraiths can invade and crush enemies of any level, while other covenants face handicapping level caps for invading higher. Between devastating high-level magic pyromancies and the flexibility to create specialty gank-slaying builds, Darkwraiths remain the optimal choice for pure PvP Strength.

Endings – From Slavish Linker of the Fire to Rightful Heir of Dark

While Frampt guides all heroes down the familiar path of linking the fire, Kaathe opens your eyes to a world of new possibilities. Only the servants of Dark witness the revelations upon his serpentine tongue.

See for yourself the divergence of fates:

The "To Link the Fire" ending continues the cycle of sacrificial emperors burned to embers. But by taking Kaathe‘s gift, you alone can bridge the past Age of Fire into a promising Age of Dark. Rule with might and determine the course of the future world. Does that not stir your soul?

In Summary – Ambition, Revelation and Destiny Guide Our Choice

While I‘ve praised Kaathe, he likely also has selfish serpentine designs. Yet I would sooner put my fate in an honest primordial snake than the cowardly gods who bind humanity to preserve their false mantle. I crave the unknown – no Fire Keeper dares speak of what Darkstalker Kaathe openly reveals.

Kingseeker Frampt makes the safe, traditional appeal – link the fire, become a noble martyr, reward expected. And yet, when a shadowy emissary from ruins deep below beckons…ignore convention, seize fortune‘s favor and uncover what fate truly has in store for you. What Dark Soul would not brave the Abyss‘s cold embrace to claim a future written in not prophecy, but flesh and will?

Our true forebears struck the scaly immortals down for their future glory. As heirs to their great victory, a fledgling Age of Fire means nothing to lords of men. Even now, embers dwindle…embrace the dark, raise the banner of humanity and stake your claim. Destiny awaits, Champion of Ash. Will you link the fire, or usher in an Age of Dark?

– Siegward of Catarina, scribe to champions, servant of the dark