Aviators - The Red Hood (Dark Souls Song | Symphonic Alternative)

You can find this song on my bandcamp:

Or on Spotify:

Let's rewind a bit, shall we? "The Red Hood" is a track from last year's "Masks" release, and since it never got a proper video done I figure now is the time! The song is about Slave Knight Gael from The Ringed City DLC of Dark Souls 3. From his own perspective, it details his struggles to reach the end of the world in search for power and purpose. In the game, he's really no different than the player... But he found the Dark Soul first.

Instrumental version:

For background music and tools for remixing, the instrumentals, vocal stems, and MIDIs of this entire EP is available for free!

You can also join the Aviators Music community on discord for updates and feedback:

Lyrics:


When once, long ago
I was worn down and abused
The strongest took the spoils
And then we fell at their shoes
But now they are gone
And my sanity's kept by my chains
So I bear them both in faith and hate
For family and all that remains

Fight, to ignite
Not for gods nor the coming of night
If I'm the last of the men to fall
Then this warrior's growing in might
For fear and for love
And survival when push comes to shove
The red hood is coming to take you home
The bearer of soul and of light

Old kings will fade
When the last of the light's fading too
The castles long have fallen
And the paintings faded blue
So here now you stand
We are human yet both something new
The last prize has been taken
Now the red hood faces you

Here in the ashes
Balanced and whole
I endlessly hunger
For power of soul
At the end of all the ages
In the last of my crusades
You're the red hood's last contender
And the first one unafraid
I'm regretful to have hurt you
But this world's blood must be spilled
I'll return home as a monster
From the bad dream that I've killed

[jold]

if their is a single phase that summarized Gael, it would be "beware the an old man in a profession where men die young"

[NWolfsson]

"If I'm the last of the men to fall
Then this warrior's growing in might"
Honestly, that must be the most dreadful realization as a Dark Souls boss.
Imagine, as one of the Lord Soul bearers in DS1: You're confident that you're one of the strongest entities in this world, and that Gwyn will not be bothered as long as you live.
Then you start seeing powerful entities extinguished, one by one. Demons, monsters, and strong-ish humans.
Still, you're confident: this undead may well be powerful, but you are well over the power level of a measly cursed human (let's remember that the gods couldn't handle the Four Kings and had to drown them with their city, and they're not gods per se).
Then Ornstein and Smough, the closest thing a mortal can be from the power of a god, are destroyed. And you realize, this entity, this cursed undead. They're getting stronger. As much stronger as strong were the ennemies they fell.
Then you feel your fellow Lord Soul bearers getting extinguished.
And you know. You're the only one able to stop them.
You also know that they were strong enough to obtain the other Lord Souls. And that it made them significantly stronger.
So you brace yourself. But you know, it is a monster coming this way.

I mean, no wonder Nito gets that much reinforcement for his fight, the Four Kings retreat to a demi-plane inaccessible unless you have an artefact from an ancient hero lost to time, and Seath tries to cheat the game by trapping you and preventing you from respawning anywhere else than his jails.

[fenrirunshackled]

Gael is the saddest character in dark souls. He is enslaved for countless thousands of years, finally finds a purpose in life being the painter girl's guardian, goes on a quest to bring her the pigment of the dark soul, slaughters what remains of primordial humanity for their dark souls, goes insane, then he needs to be killed for the painter to get the pigment. The kicker? The whole reason she wanted the pigment was to create a home for Gael

[John-rnnm]

I love how Gael reflects us the player even more so then Soul of Cinder. He is not the hardest but he is my favorite boss in all of Souls.

[professorgrimm]

The Ringed City DLC really is the perfect ending to the dark souls series. All of the final bosses up until now have been some mighty kings or gods, some divine beings. And the object was always to prolong the world. But the final boss of the series is just a simple man, a slave knight almost as old as the world. And the arena for the fight is literally the end of times, the end of the world. This time you don't fight simply to prolong the world, you fight to create a new world, one that doesn't decay. But for this you need one final thing, the thing that gives the whole series it's name, ...the dark soul. The furtive pygmy, so easily forgotten, now reveals it's relevance. More powerful then the flame of the gods, is the dark soul of mankind. And now two simple men fight over it, at the end of times...

[jjvagnar]

I love how Gael is a reflection of you as a player,
1. a nobody who's been fighting since the days of Dark Souls 1 (where he gets his way of the white discus spell) through uncounted ages in pursuit of the Dark Soul,
2. is in a "Covenant"of sorts with the Painter, seeking to obtain the Dark Soul for her, the same way you gather items to level up your covenant

3. Reaches a Brick Wall boss in the form of Sister Friede in Ariandel, and has to beg another player (You) for help to get past her and continue his quest in the Ringed city.
4. Returns the favour by helping you with the Twin Demons boss fight
5. finally is forced to turn on you in the end, to complete his quest line and finish "The game"
Amazing that From Software managed to make a guy with so little lore such an epic and emotional impact to players. RIP Gael, you were an incredible conclusion to the series!

[mariapazgonzalezlesme]

*"Give it to me. That thing. Your Dark Synth."*

[fnafking]

I just got the fucking joke, we are battling the last boss of the soul series being a slave knights of the first ever age of fire, which he consumes the blood of old turned to dust, meanwhile our MC is a character born from the ashes of 1000 smoldering failures.
We are literally fighting Dust with Ash.
“Ashes to ashes and Dust to dust”
Funny and Ironic at the same time.

[thewatcher]

One of my sisters has learned the lore of Dark Souls because she found all of this music and started asking me questions. Your music is spreading to people who haven't played the games, but now want to because of said music.

[variousbun]

This is the BEST Dark Souls boss ever...
- Dramatic and sad history
- One of the greatest OST ever made in this world
- And of course,
the best bossfight in the Dark Souls trilogy

[ABANDONED]

Ive never played dark souls in my entire life. I just like Aviators.

[goatlover]

First ever Dark souls enemy:
A hollow with a broken sword

Last ever Dark souls enemy:
A hollow with a broken sword

[Animefan]

Thinking about it.

the Soulsborne series is probably the most Humanity Fuck Yeah videogame series in the history of videogames.
Humans survived all of the gods, even the end of the world.

Even when there´s only ash and ruins to fight over, 2 humans are crossing swords.
Not Gods. Not Dragons, Demons, just Men.

[colins]

At the end of the world, the end of time, stands two.

Not gods nor kings, but a slave and ash.

And at the end, they clash like titans, for they have outlived all others.

Even in a dead world they still fight for it is all they know.

[AllYourPals]

"what, still here?"

"hand it over..."

"that thing..."

"your subscription..."


"for my patreons painting..."

[JackoDaggers]

Hot take: Gael and The Ashen One are the most powerful beings in existence, and the Ashen One besting them narrowly or otherwise... Means the Ashen One comfortably sits at the tip-top of the tip of the top of the metaphorical Soulsverse food chain.

Always thought that was cool.

[icngames]

Interesting thing: Gael is weak to the Hollowslayer Greatsword during his second and third phase.

During Phase 1, Gael isn't hollow, but an Undead who is hollowing. The thing keeping him sane is his quest to reunite the Dark Soul and give it to the painter, so that she might create a better world.

As soon as he sees his blood, he goes hollow and begins burning his humanity (the skulls) in a last desperate attempt to complete his goal.

Sister Friede is the same. She is alive to protect her father and stop the Ashen One from lighting the flame. During Phase 3, she begins using Dark Magic. The essence of Humanity given the form of fire.

[skycastrum]

Haven’t played Dark Souls. Just found out about Aviators through checking out some fantasy inspired songs. Some of the lyrics here are really great, especially after looking a bit into Dark Souls lore.

“Fight, to ignite,
not for gods not the coming of night.”

Other parts really struck me before I even looked into the background.

“For fear, and for love,
and survival when push comes to shove.”

Had me checking out the phrase “when push comes to shove.” The song really seems to capture the meaning, that moment of desperate, no, determined escalation. Great song.

[blizzardgaming]

I love how this song is one of the few truly triumphant ones, Gael was the only one in the world of Dark Souls to fully realise his goal.
Gwyns age of fire faded, those who sought to preserve it failed, those who tried to supplant or replace it failed. Seath failed to achieve immortality, the Witch of Izalith failed to recreate the first flame, Artorias failed to thwart the dark.
Vendrick failed to reach the throne of want, the Fume knight failed to save his queen, the Ivory King failed to stop the chaos flame.
The abyss watchers failed to stop the abyss, Yhorm failed to protect the one he loved and Pontiff Sulyvan failed to conquer the world.
Gael found the blood of the dark soul and became its vessel before finally having rest.

[Tapps]

“Fight to ignite, not for gods nor the coming of light.” I love that.