The souls of the four original Lords of Lordran in Dark Souls (Gwyn, Seath the Scaleless, Nito and the Witch of Izalith) are linked to Drangleic. They have reincarnated there, and exert their influence on the land over which Vendrick rules. In particular, starting from the Shady Woods there are many elements that refer to Seath the Senzascaglie. Its influence leads to craving for something that is lacking or lacking from birth (in her case scales and immortality) and ultimately to madness.
The path naturally leads us to Tseldora's Pietralucente quarry, where a Duke - the same charge as Seath in Dark Souls - had taken root and thrived a small town, to the point of going mad and sending his entire micro kingdom to ruin.
Once thriving because of the piercing stone, which attracted many people in search of fortune, now the quarry is nothing more than a city half swallowed by the sands. It was the Duke's secret passion, in fact, to allow this and to make it populated by the progeny of his most beloved creature: a giant spider called Freja.
The story is different from Quelaag of the first Dark Souls: arachnophobics will not particularly appreciate neither the Pietralucente Quarry, made up of makeshift paths, nor Freja, who unfortunately for them is guarding a Primal Bonfire in the depths of the quarry. This makes her one of the most important bosses in all of Dark Souls II, required to appease the Winter Sanctuary and allow access to Drangleic's Castle.
The road leading to Freja is winding and infested with her children, parasitic spiders who have taken control of the area's farmers and miners by controlling them like puppets. A chapel built towards the end of the area (be warned: there are many spiders hanging from the ceiling) leads to a cave and a dark descent to be made by walking on tight cobwebs. At its base, Freja waits with a mysterious soul, echo of an albino dragon coming from Dark Souls and an older - if possible - presence, which Shalquoir a Majula calls Writhing Ruin, which had the task of growing the female spider exponentially.
Freja has two peculiarities: the fact that it is always accompanied by spiders and the fact that it is invulnerable, except for its two heads. As if that weren't enough Freja is not only a giant spider, she is also two-headed: the incarnate nightmare of all self-respecting ones. Unfortunately, to defeat Freja you will have to keep your eyes open and aim for the two pumpkins, remembering to clean the area from spiders from time to time.
In Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, lesser spiders are scared of fire and will not attack if the Cursebringer holds a torch. Treasure this addition, but say goodbye to a shield, also remembering that Freja is weak to fire. As always, we see the creature's attacks one by one. For this boss it is advisable not to bet.
Attacks:
- Pestoni: This is one of the attacks Freja will use most frequently. It will knock its paws on the ground several times, especially if you are near the heads, and is to be dodged by moving away from the paws.
- Bite: Another very common boss attack, it is a sign that the player is too stingy and focusing too much on the heads. It's a loaded bite made wider by the pliers surrounding Freja's jaws, so it has a sizable hitbox. Two side flips should be enough to get away from the attacking area.
- Cobwebs: Sometimes Freja will spit cobwebs from her mouth (fortunately) in order to slow down the player for a few seconds. The bullets are quite fast, but with quick reflexes they can be dodged sideways.
- Jump / crash: Freja could jump high and land trying to hit the player. The difficulty varies according to the position of the boss; often it is just a way to shake off the one / s who is doing her damage, on other occasions it turns into a real attack to be dodged with as many somersaults as possible.
- Acid: in addition to cobwebs, Freja also spits acid. This degrades the equipment of one's Chosen Undead, so it is to be avoided so as not to suddenly find yourself more vulnerable surrounded by the boss's spiders.
- Furia: it is an attack that Freja makes when she goes berserk and consists in the union of the pestons and the acid. The giant spider will violently slam its paws on the ground several times, while at the same time spitting acid with the same effect listed above. Get as far away from the boss as possible.
- radius: is perhaps his most surprising attack. Freja will fire a counterclockwise energy beam from one of the heads. It does a lot of damage and is 100% avoidable only if you are very far from the boss as it is a medium to long range energy beam. It cannot be parried but it can be dodged through, it being understood that promptness and adaptability are required. To dodge it, depending on the position, you have to run in the same direction of the beam or get close to its other head (and maybe hit it).
Drop:
- Soul of Freja, the Duke's Beloved (creations, from Ornifex in the Tseldora Stone Quarry: Spider Tooth or Spider Silk)
- 45.000 anime
- Soul of the Old Pale Dragon (New Game +)
Note: In Dark Souls II's New Game +, Freja will surprise you by appearing at the beginning of Tseldora's Shining Stone Quarry as you go up the mountain in addition to giving the soul of what was once Seath the Scaleless if defeated. It will remain there for a short time spitting acid here and there and may be weakened. Once hit enough, Freja will decide to retire and wait in the arena with the life you have taken from her subtracted from the total.
Lore:
To the right of the arena there is a passage that leads to the private room of the Duke of Tseldora. It consists of a small room with a desk and a library, as well as an undead now empty. The undead wears the typical clothing of the city of Tseldora, which separates him from the simple peasants on the top of the mountain who do not wear it. At the same time it is almost certain that it is not the Duke, the founder of the mining town, as there is nothing that indicates him as such. Probably a servant, who had the misfortune to become empty in the private rooms of the old local lord.
The most interesting detail of the small room is a torn iron cage: Freja's old cage, before it was enhanced and enlarged by the Twisted Ruin. and free to reclaim her master's city. Tseldora, as we have mentioned, had a great passion for spiders and it is a characteristic of the influence of this mysterious entity to allow the emergence of "singular attractions".
In fact, it is said that Tseldora has been watching as Freja (name of the fertility goddess in Norse mythology) gave birth to thousands of spiders with a mysterious companion and these invaded the city, seeing all his vassals perish or become enslaved to arachnids. Like the Harvest Valley, this place too has lost its grandeur, becoming the temple of a ancient dragon fossil which can be seen in the same arena as Freja, exiting the Duke's hall.
Reconstructing the events that led to the calamity, it is easy to think that digging the miners have found the remains of a dragon, of those present before life itself (as seen in the first Dark Souls cutscene), and with it have awakened the influence of Seath and the so-called Twisted Ruin, which influenced the Duke and his small, lonely Freja. Lord Tseldora is also related to Tark the Scorpio Man. Often Tark speaks of a lonely and eager "master" who at the height of his madness created him and Najka, his former partner. The hybrid also talks about how there was a similar one who turned into a spider and, once Freja was killed, thanks the Curse Bearer, stating however that his master never dies, but changes shape.
Rumors, in fact, and specifically the weapons that can be forged from Freja's soul, want that Tseldora driven by his obsession either became or tried to become an arachnid by joining Freja either as a second head or, at worst, as his companion, making Freja really his Loved.
► Dark Souls II is an RPG-Adventure game developed by FromSoftware and published by FromSoftware Bandai Namco for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the video game was released on 11/03/2014 The version for PC came out on 25/04/2014
