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[Dark Souls 1/2] Questions about Hollows and the undead

The main story itself I think I have understood but some stuff about being undead is still confusing.

1. What does it feel like to be hollow? Is it just like being a mindless zombie?

2. Why can some hollows wield weapons effectively (Royal soldiers in the tomb of Giants, Viking people in no mans wharf) while others just charge at you barehanded?

3. Does everyone who dies come back undead? Is it just people with the Darksign? How do you get the dark sign? 

4. What factors affect an undead's degradation into hollowness?
gpt
1. It's apparently something similar to Alzheimer's, just on a much greater scale. Early stages of hollowing are marked by memory loss, forgetfullness, and paranoia, and as it progresses the symptoms only worsen until the subject no longer remembers who they are or what they are doing at any given moment. So yes, basically just a mindless zombie.

2. Not everything we see in Dark Souls in a hollow, for one, but it likely has to do with various stages of hollowing. Some of the more well-trained, well armed hollows could likely manage to scrape by with a meager amount of humanity and souls taken from others, and thus can retain some sembalance of their personality and will. Others have nothing, and are either attacking you out of desperation or sheer instinct.

3. Not everyone, just those marked by the Darksign. HOW you get the Darksign is unknown, and there are a lot of conflicting accounts. Some seem to think it acts like a plague you can catch in contact with the Undead. Some think it's a curse, from the gods or otherwise. Some people think it's the natural state of humans, and that our "normal" mortality is actually an abberation; a corruption by the "Dark Soul" of our normal existence. Whatever the case, nobody knows, but once you are branded you cannot die permanently.

4. It progresses naturally over time, and dying speeds up the process. There is some indication that being focused on a particular goal or quest can slow the process, and on the flip side having nothing to live for or just losing hope can speed it up. Possessing a powerful soul, or abundant stores of humanity, can also stave off the effects of hollowing, which is why shopkeepers can remain sane and why some Hollows choose to hunt others to steal their humanity.