Let me help you a little with the plot, though I don't know if it actually HELPS.. Well, here we go, my theory about the story:
[CONTAINS SPOILERS]
At the beginning, there were dragons. They were the rulers of world. But as to all things must come and end, so does come the end of the rule of dragons. In the depths of the dark, the Lord souls were found. And the souls, they took form. Nito, Izalith, Gwyn and the furtive pygmy. The Lords challenged the dragons, eventually defeating them. Thus began the age of fire - the age, of Lords and humans.
Nito came to be the ruler of death, judging from the deep chambers of the tomb of the giants. Gwyn became the Lord of sunlight and cinder, and was praised by all. Izalith researched the art of flame, and eventually came to be the mother of the art of pyromancy. Seath achieved the title of duke for his acts in the battle against dragons, and also started researching, for he wanted to achieve immortality like his betrayed brethren. With the title of duke, Seath married the daughter of Gwyn, Gwynevere, who eventually gave birth to Priscilla. And the pygmy, he remained furtive and was not mentioned in the almanacs of history.
But eventually, the flames began to fade, the balance between life and death began to dwindle. Seaths daugther was not accepted in the world of humans, crossbreed as she was, and the poor thing eventually created his own, cold and lonely painted world inside a painting, guarded by numerable men. Gwyn became mad with power, and his loyal knights turned evil towards all things except the Lords. Thus, the undead rose in numbers, and started eradicating entire nations. Izalith, in her temple of fire, tried to duplicate the first flame, but instead, transformed into an malformed, horrendous being. Seath became so passionate with his research, that his mind twisted, and the Dukes archives became a forbidden place of evil experiments.
And as to all things comes to an end, so does to the rule of Lords. The descendant of the pygmy shall rise from amongst undead, and challenge the Lords. And in the legends it is stated, that this unknown hero shall, with the strength of the Lords, defeat Gwyn, Lord of sunlight and cinder - and inherit the fire, so that humanity could be kindled once more, and that men and women may finally become lords of themselves.