The Thunderbird is a legendary giant bird from Native American mythology, revered as a powerful spirit controlling storms and lightning. Today, it is a popular cryptozoological mystery fueled by reported sightings of enormous birds and an infamous, supposedly lost 1890 photograph from Tombstone, Arizona. Scientists and skeptics largely attribute these modern encounters to optical illusions, misidentified birds like condors, or folk memories of extinct prehistoric giants like teratorns.

The Dark Souls universe centers on the Furtive Pygmy, a forgotten figure who discovered the Dark Soul and fragmented it to create humanity. Fearing this dark power, the gods cursed humans with the Darksign, trapping them in an endless cycle of undeath to artificially prolong their Age of Fire. This cosmic struggle between Light and Dark reflects deep existential themes of meaning, suffering, and perseverance against despair.

On August 21, 1955, the Sutton and Taylor families claimed they were besieged by extraterrestrials at a farmhouse near Kelly, Kentucky. After seeing a glowing UFO, the group fought off small, silvery beings with large eyes and claws. They shot at the creatures before fleeing to the police. Investigators found no alien evidence, leading skeptics to conclude the "goblins" were simply misidentified great horned owls.

The Witch of Izalith attempted to duplicate the First Flame with her Lord Soul, resulting in a catastrophic failure. She birthed the volatile Flame of Chaos, mutating herself and her daughters into the Bed of Chaos, a twisted seedbed that spawned the Demon race. Although this tragedy destroyed the underground city of Izalith, survivors like Quelana sought to understand and tame this wild fire, ultimately leading to the birth of Pyromancy.

On June 10, 1912, Villisca, Iowa, was rocked by a brutal mass murder. An unknown assailant entered the Moore home, bludgeoning the couple, their four children, and two visiting friends to death with an axe as they slept. Despite a lengthy investigation and numerous suspects, including a local politician and a traveling preacher, the crime remains unsolved. Today, the house is a popular tourist attraction known for its alleged paranormal activity.

The Dark Souls series explores a universe caught between the fading Age of Fire and the Age of Dark. Fearing darkness, Lord Gwyn sacrificed his soul to prolong the First Flame, inadvertently triggering the Undead Curse. The narrative examines the lore of gods, demons, and humans, focusing on the existential struggle in a dying world where one must choose to either link the flame or embrace the dark.

The Black Prince's Ruby is a 170-carat gemstone in the British Imperial State Crown. Despite its name, it is a red spinel from Badakhshan, not a ruby. Its bloody legend involves 14th-century Spain, Don Pedro the Cruel, and Edward the Black Prince. Beyond this famous stone, modern gemology uses advanced tools like spectroscopy and mass spectrometry to distinguish rubies from spinels, detect synthetic treatments, and trace a gemstone's geographic origin.

Gravelord Nito, the "First of the Dead," is a Dark Souls deity who claimed the Death Soul at the dawn of the Age of Fire. Ruling the Tomb of the Giants, he administers death and commands the Gravelord covenant. After allying with Lord Gwyn to defeat the ancient dragons, Nito's power waned, partly because the necromancer Pinwheel stole his Rite of Kindling. Ultimately, players must defeat Nito to claim his powerful Lord Soul.

In 1966, two Brazilian technicians were discovered dead on Vintém Hill in Rio de Janeiro. They wore formal suits, raincoats, and crude lead eye masks. A nearby notebook contained cryptic instructions about ingesting capsules and awaiting a "mask signal". Due to delayed autopsies, their cause of death was never determined. This bizarre, unsolved mystery has sparked enduring theories involving UFO cults, accidental drug overdoses, and foul play.

In the Dark Souls universe, Everlasting Dragons are immortal, mineral-based beings that ruled the primordial world before the advent of life, death, light, and dark. They derived their immortality from their stone scales. The emergence of the First Flame brought disparity, empowering the Lords to nearly exterminate them with the help of Seath the Scaleless. Today, only their corrupted descendants and enduring legacy remain.