Gael is an uncle-like figure to the Painter. Though his exact relation is unknown, he certainly resided in the Painted World for some time, at least until the Painter was locked up. At this point, he took the rotted remains of the physical portal to that world with him, attempting to find the Ashen One to complete the prophecy that would burn away the rotted world so that the Painter could replace it.

Gael can be found praying before the statue next to the Cleansing Chapel bonfire in the Cathedral of the Deep. Upon encountering the Ashen One, he requests the One to free The Painter and show her the flame that would burn the rot. Once they come into contact with the piece of the painting he carries, the Ashen One is transported to the Painted World. There, in the fight with Ariandel and Friede, the flame is reignited, and The Painter comments that she will wait until she can see it before beginning the painting. To do that, she needs the pigment she intends to use, which she reveals to be the Dark Soul itself, discovered by the Furtive Pygmy and used to create all of humankind. She also mentions that Gael intended to get it for her, for he has set out on a new mission to find it, and she wonders whether or not he has found it already.

Gael's mission leads him to The Ringed City, where he came upon the pygmy lords. Their blood had long ago dried, and so consumed the Dark Soul, making it useless to him. Driven mad by this revelation and determined to complete his mission, Gael slaughters the Pygmies, cutting their throats and drinking their dried blood, in a desperate attempt to take the Dark Soul for himself. But even he realized that the Dark Soul was too powerful for him to handle, and it mutated his body, causing him to grow in size and warp his mind. And so the Ashen One finds Gael fully corrupted by the Dark Soul.