Essence of theDark Sign

By consuming the Essence of the Dark Sign you become one of the Chosen Undead:

• Death is no longer permanent, instead, you will go Hollow and lose all souls in the process. Hollowing will reduce you into a progressively more and more undead state, though you will never suffer complete mental infirmity or permanent loss of memory unlike true Undead.

• Those you slay will give you souls, a source of power and potential for you. The stronger and older the being, the more souls you will gather. Souls gained can be used to enhance yourself, your equipment and condense Humanity, your only means of reversing Hollowing.

• Beings greater than normal, elites full of power and potential, grant you greater souls that you may use to craft powerful equipment or derive spells appropriate for their source or convert into a huge deluge of normal souls.

• Items you possess can be inexplicably stored away within yourself, where they are preserved perfectly, free to withdraw if with a measure of concentration.

• You gain an Estus Flask, a flask of healing ambrosia borne of flame. It cures wounds, purges sickness, poison, curses and all manner of malady. It has a limited number of charges, before it needs to be restored at a Bonfire, which can be increased with souls.

• You gain a Gold Soapstone, a strange stone capable of linking worlds. With it you can invade other worlds, summon allies, be summoned by allies, or leave messages to others.

• You gain the ability to designate Bonfires with a Coiled Sword, one for each discrete location. Bonfires are where you will find yourself returning after death and can be used to restore yourself and your Estus, rest safely and move between other Bonfires.

• You gain the ability to designate Fire Keepers, women full of Humanity that maintain the Bonfires and help Undead grow in power by transforming raw souls into potential. They can also craft new Estus Flasks, Soapstones, Humanity and other useful necessities for other Undead.

• You gain the ability to designate other Chosen Undead, branding them with the Dark Sign, who may share all of these abilities, if you wish, or none.

• Choose any of the following:

• You possess a pyromancy flame, a seed of fire that fuels fiery magics. You have great talent and an instinctive ability to learn Pyromancies.

• You possess a catalyst and the power of soul to wield soul sorcery. You have great talent and an instinctive ability to learn Sorceries.

• You possess a talisman and the power of faith and stories, the source of miracles. You have great talent and an instinctive ability to learn Miracles.