There are a wealth of fantastic areas with an incredible amount of detail and care poured into them in Dark Souls 3, which means that there is plenty that you may have missed when stumbling through, fighting off foes, drenching yourself in muck and blood as you power on to the next boss.
Smouldering Lake is no different, finding itself tucked away just before Wolnir as you cut down a bridge, turning it into a ladder. Here are ten things that you may not have known about the location that the demons call home.
10 The Carthus Sandworm Is Referenced In The Yellow Bug Pellet Item
There are theories abound about the mini-boss of the Smouldering Lake, the Carthus Sandworm, and tons of hidden details that you might have missed such as the miasma of corpses protruding from its body.
However, a tangible bit of trivia that you may not have known is that the worm is referenced as a foreboding threat in the yellow bug pellet's description. It reads, "the grave wardens of Carthus used these to repel a great sandworm."
9 Smouldering Lake May Be Lost Izalith Bleeding Into Ash Lake
Smouldering Lake and its inhabitants, such as the aforementioned Carthus Sandworm, are the subject of many theories, but one prevalent and popular one is that the walls of Lost Izalith broke, allowing for the Demonic chaos to bleed into the geographically close Ash Lake.
These areas feature in the first Dark Souls and are incredibly close in proximity, and with the giant burning trees as well as the remnants of Izalith demons and characters, it makes sense that the two could have merged over time.
8 The Old Demon King Is A Taurus Demon
There are few demons remaining from their glory days in Dark Souls, and the ones that linger on are husks of their former prowess, bellowing in old age as they stumble to the grave.
One of these remaining beasts is the Old Demon King himself, and for all intents and purposes, he appears to be a Taurus Demon of which we find several of in the first Dark Souls.
7 Tarkus Was Originally Intended To Invade You In Lost Izalith
Lost Izalith, the accursed, lava-filled hellscape from the original Dark Souls, was a rushed job, given the deadline that encroached on FromSoftware. The developers had originally planned to sick Tarkus on you as an invader in this infamous location.
This never made it to the light of day, however, and so it seems as though, in Dark Souls 3, Tsorig, who bears the same armor as Tarkus, is a callback to this cut content. He invades you in Smouldering Lake, the remnants of Lost Izalith.
6 Black Knights Are Still Fighting The Demon War
The former Silver Knights who stood by their Lord Gwyn in the Demon Wars, charred black by the flames, linger to this day, still fighting that long-standing conflict that began before we even jumped into the fray in Dark Souls.
You find some of these knights still standing in the Smouldering Lake, with the first behind an illusion wall, killing a demon. That means that, over the course of three games and countless years, there are still those loyal to Gwyn shelling out over their duty, piling up the corpses.
5 The Centipede Demon's Corpse Can Be Found In The Smouldering Lake
The Centipede Demon was formed when the sole son of the Witch of Izalith dropped his Orange Charred Ring that served to lessen the pain he endured. It arose from the location that this magical artifact fell to.
However, the Chosen Undead eventually stumbled upon and slew said creature, taking the ring for themselves. This allowed for them to traverse the lava of Lost Izalith, but strangely enough, a corpse of a Centipede Demon, a seemingly unique creature, can be found in the Old Demon King's arena.
4 Demon Statues Are One Of The Few Races Left Standing
There are very few Demons left by the time of Dark Souls 3, with the Stray Demon atop the bridge early in the game, as well as the various Taurus Demons, such as the Old Demon King, that we face on our journey.
However, one race that has clung on to the end is the Demon Statue, an obscure foe that leaps out at its prey, not unlike the stone gargoyles that spring to life. There are plenty, at least in comparison to the other demons, of these little slug-monsters roaming the Smouldering Lake's ruins.
3 You Can Lure Tsorig's Phantom To His Real Self
There is plenty of lore to be had in the depths of the Smouldering Lake and in Lost Izalith's perilous grasp, with the Demons being a hugely elaborate part of Dark Souls' mythos, but it's not all lore that you might have missed in this brightly lit hell-hole.
You can summon the previously mentioned Tsorig, but he also invades you and you can find his real form, meaning that there are three potential encounters. These are fairly close in proximity, so you can actually lure the phantom to his real self, causing him to duel with himself.
2 The Fair Lady's Corpse Lies In The Ruins
You find Quelana's tomb on a shriveled corpse beside a petrified spider demon, but this is actually a familiar face, as it is none other than Queelag's sister, the Fair Lady, who you meet in Dark Souls.
Quelana appears to have been attempting to move the boulders that were crushing her sister, only to fail, dying alongside her, leaving naught but her corpse and her spells.
1 In The Old Demon King's Second Phase, The Bed Of Chaos Theme Bleeds In
In the final fight of Dark Souls 3 itself, against the Soul of Cinder, its second phase sees a melodic return of Gwyn's theme, a bone-chilling moment that surely caused many a hair to stand up.
However, what many seem to have missed is that something similar happens much earlier in the Ashen One's adventure when facing the Old Demon King. In his second, fire-ridden phase, a remix of the Bed of Chaos theme bleeds in slightly. It's much more subtle, and that's likely because you'd be hard-pressed to find people with fond memories of this cheese-ridden nightmare that was unfair in its unrelenting difficulty.