Aldia is the elder brother of King Vendrick, and aided his brother in founding the kingdom of Drangleic.[1] He secluded himself to his manor, searching for secrets of life, viewing the Undead as the key to finding it.[2][3] For his reverence of the Undead, Aldia was shunned by Vendrick, banished to his Keep forever.[4] People who were invited to his manor commonly disappeared and were replaced with malformed beasts.[3] The Southern and Northern Ritual Bands were created by Aldia after cruel, horrible experiments were performed on these people.[5][6] Many valuable objects came out of Aldia's Keep, including the Sunset Staff,[7] the Spitfire Spear,[3] Soul Geyser,[8] Unleash Magic,[9] and Forbidden Sun.[10]
Through his experiments, Aldia sought to learn the nature of the undead curse, and to shed the yoke of fate. He failed however, and turned into a monstrosity, inhabiting the bonfires. When the Bearer of the Curse has defeated the Four Great Ones and lit the Primal Bonfires he will emerge and guide the Bearer of the Curse towards his brother Vendrick, now a mindless hollow. He continues to appear to the Bearer of the Curse, seeking to learn their intentions and telling them of the nature of the curse and the fabric of their world.
He will finally attack the Bearer of the Curse before they can take the Throne of Want, seeking to test them. When he is defeated, he will ask the Bearer of the Curse what they want; light, dark or something else entirely. If the Bearer of the Curse chooses to reject the throne and leave, he will narrate their departure, saying that beyond the scope of light and the reach of dark, there is nothing. And yet we seek it, insatiably.