Death | Basics Dark Souls II Guide

Death is not the end of the game in Dark Souls 2. When the hero dies, he loses all the souls and becomes hollowed (if he was human before), and then he resurrects at the last bonfire. At the location of his death, there is a bloodstain which can be activated to regain the souls. To reverse the hollowing process, which reduces the maximum amount of health with every death, you have to use Human Effigy.

Ring of Soul Protection can be very useful

There are some ways to protect yourself from the negative effects of death. Ring of Life Protection and Ring of Soul Protection enable you to retain human form and all the souls in case of dying. Unfortunately, those rings are destroyed after only one death. They can be repaired for, respectively, 3000 souls and 6000 souls, to be used again.