So I’m new to Dark Souls lore, and one aspect of the Age of Ancients has been bothering me.

We all know the opening mythology is intentionally vague, symbolic, and compressed for storytelling purposes, which is fine, but I’m struggling to place certain events on the timeline, specifically the period between the discovery of the Lord Souls and Gwyn’s war against the Everlasting Dragons. In the opening cinematic, Gwyn is shown standing before the First Flame (or perhaps wielding his newly acquired Lord Soul) with his Silver Knights behind him. They’re all still clearly underneath the Archtrees, and if that’s the case, then when exactly did Gwyn establish his legions? The existence of the Silver Knights implies a degree of social organization and military hierarchy that I just can’t see existing in a featureless Hollow society pre-war. It’s pretty jarring that we see Gwyn (and similarly the Witch of Izalith) clothed and organized against the backdrop of simple bare caves with no visual society or organization.

Was there a significant period of development between the discovery of the Lord Souls and the Dragon War? Or are we meant to assume that the acquisition of a Lord Soul transformed him and his followers almost immediately? Also, what is going on with Nito? “First of the dead”? What does this even mean?

What Existed Between the Discovery of the Lord Souls and the Dragon War?