10 Fascinating DLC Discoveries | Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Lore

[@FaeQueenCory]

That ledge IS the shrine. It's common for Shinto and Buddhist shines for the deceased in Japan to be placed in high places in a room, often above or facing a doorway.

[@glowindark64]

Exactly

[@GoblinRaccoon]

It also could be referencing a thing in Japanese culture, (I can’t remember the name for them, so I’ll describe them) a sealed item within a package that isn’t meant to be opened, but usually are meant to be valuable? I mean the ledge is clearly not intended to be reached except by unconventional means.

[@Plz8662]

☝️🤓

[@GoblinRaccoon]

@@araynick8577 and you sound like a highschool bully who resents his autistic brother for being given slightly more care than him and thus takes out his frustration on any other kid who seems “weird” but in fact are just neurodivergent.

[@adaroben1104]

She's watching over the place. Literally over everything else. Great view if you don't mind the bat maids dusting up.

[@Un4tunate12]

For the dancing lion, I believe the helm still houses the spirit of the dancing lion even when you wear it, thus it takes some of your healing for itself reducing yours.

[@Tsuki_the_canadian_otaku]

That would make sence to some extent

[@Tengu125]

That's a good point

[@mattlabelle39]

@2:30 || hilda fell down the elevator and they made a little "R.I.P. Be careful by the elevator" shrine to remind the warehouse workers of safety protocol to avoid any more osha complaints.

[@ianwilliams2632]

and/or it's just a lame Gertrude reference

[@dimeoblade]

This is cannon. It's in the lore!

[@quint3ssent1a]

Shame they couldn't call the Lift Inspector dude

[@Avghistorian77]

3:25 It could be in reference to Rennala and Radagon’s covenant of marriage, as Radagon himself had a wolf, with the wolf becoming a symbol of the Carians after the marriage

[@samplexample]

The bat statues are used irl to scare away birds bats etc from nesting or occupying the area.

[@patriciapandacoon7162]

doesn't seem to have worked too well

[@Ghorda9]

they're used to route water away from the walls and also the architect depicting the people he hates.

[@supernova00500]

Strangely I just thought that it was meant to attract bats, bats sometimes appear to be gregarious, and if they think there's other bats around they might gather there.

[@hoffmankspengineering2034]

The ash-filled room in Enir Ilim is referred to by a nearby site of grace as the "cleansing chamber". So, cleansing by fire?

[@mmyr8ado.360]

More like a smokehouse judging by the monks sitting above the chamber.

[@FaeQueenCory]

The cleansing chamber is the room before the big conference room. It's an audience hall for communion with a god.

[@playerslayer888]

Is that what kids call Hotboxing nowadays?

[@negative6442]

​@@mmyr8ado.360 mmm, smoked monks, yummy

[@aboveaveragecat44]

@@playerslayer888lmao

[@hobosorcerer]

Red & Blue seem to be symbolic colors of the Twinbird, and of the old religion around death in the Lands Between. From the ritual branch talismans to the twinbird kite shield, and even the dual colors of the Cerulean Coast & Charos Hidden Grave nestled next to each other, I believe this is part of what the dancers are about. Live always flowing, moving, so it does not rot or become stagnant.

[@scifisyko]

I figured the bat statues were there to mess with you, given that they’re there along with actual bats. You might attack a statue or ignore a real bat in confusion.

[@skulblaka965]

For sure that's the game design reason, but Fromsoft isn't usually in the habit of doing things that are "gamey" without having a good excuse for it.

[@DeathPoke1qa]

I think it's to play off of the clear vampiric Vlad the Impaler inspiration for Messmer

[@diegodankquixote-wry3242]

The storeroom reminds me of a gigantic wunderkammer, and the bat statues are just an extension of Messmer's collection of oddities.

[@global-sequence]

Oooooh love the Nanaya tidbit. The idea of wrapping herself in decorative cloth makes her go from mysterious traveler to another type of creature entirely in my mind.

[@troy6646]

I heard a theory she's shabriri. If u look at his talisman and the picture of nanaya, they have a similar smile. There's also all the frenzied flame stuff and what not. This with the cloths could be added to that, like he's just pretending to be a girl of hornsent culture but really is just trying to get another to become the lord of frenzy

[@global-sequence]

@@troy6646 I think something similar but that Nanaya is her own frenzy prophet like Hyetta is. Ultimately they are in the same line of business as Shabriri but the greater the number of frenzy-prophets like Shabriri, Nanaya, and Hyetta, the more it seems like the influence of the Frenzy is a growing inevitability. Just my own headcanon ofc!

[@SorowFame]

@@troy6646Shabriri can’t get through his pitch without giving the game away by screaming “may chaos take the world!”, there’s no way he’s that good an actor. Probably the same or a similar entity to Hyetta since she either doesn’t keep her memories between incarnations or is far better at hiding her true nature.

[@troy6646]

@global-sequence yeah I don't have proof nor have I looked for it, it's just a theory I think sounds fun and interesting lol

[@troy6646]

@@SorowFame true, I think it's just interesting to think about regardless lol

[@unbentsign7194]

4:19 well obviously this kiln is for rekindling the fire

[@alextrill5829]

Bats are a simple easter egg, nothing more. Messmer has a TON of references to Dracula and vampires in general - he's called "the Impaler", is a thin pale twink, lives in imposing Shadow Keep, said keep is infested with bats, etc. Bat carvings are just one more reference to Dracula.

[@Ordinary_regular-guy]

He's not a twink tho...

[@ianwilliams2632]

Nooo don't interrupt the deeplore scholars as they search for TRUE meaning!

[@DocLunarwind]

The thinness is a call to Hel, goddess of Hel in Norse mythology. Half a withered body, banished to a dark realm. Born by Loki. Lots of Merikas stuff is Loki-like. A giant son (Rodan) Wolf guardian of the way to Hel (malekith guarding the Rune) Snake/wyrm son (Rykard and Messmer) Sleipnir (torrent) Changer of skins (Radagan (and maybe being the gloam eyed)) Teller of stories (melina) I could proberly think of a few things The bats though, definetly a Dracula/vampire reference 🙂

[@BLAM5980]

Not a twink.

[@MrFRNTIK]

​@@ianwilliams2632it's pretty weird that people get real upset about lore theorists. Like you really hate fun don't you?

[@terselanguage]

Honestly, Divine Beast was my favorite fight. Mainly because of how often I found myself fighting to the rhythm of the music, like the music was actually helping me dodge and whatnot. It felt awesome.

[@Dr.Funk8864]

The camera tho

[@EldenRingStreams]

You’ll find a lot of bosses actually fight to the beat of their music

[@vkurek320]

7:35 braided cord robe tells us: Ragged black cloth overlaid with braided cord. Attire of a vengeance-seeking hornsent. The braided cord ties together the vow of the revenger with the victims' grudges. It must never come undone. Enhances both watchful spirits and the vengeful spirits summoned by horned bairns. " . So, we definitely know that braids symbolise vows and their two-sided natures in Elden Ring. Definitely rings a few bells

[@Ghost-xy7ff]

That “blue” dress is very much black outside of the cerulean coast

[@Nixthyo]

Nanaya being a seductress and leading Midra down the frenzyflame path is very plausible. Elden Ring has a lot of ideas from Dark Souls 2. DS2 had Nashandra tricking Vendrick into stealing the Giant's treasure.

[@venomflame2358]

True but Midra's Dialogue before his fight with you, suggests that Nanaya encouraged him to keep the flame bound. He apologizes to this Nanaya before pulling the sword of damnation out of his body.

[@greenpinapple820]

​@venomflame2358 she also cradles a failed former frenzied lord with her when we find her body. In comparison to Shabriri, who so strongly urges us to "claim" the frenzy, it's strange that Nanaya (if she is a frenzied supporter) would take such an indirect approach, maybe to let the flame fester? Nanaya is a Mesopotamian love Goddess (who is very seductive, even having some mention of payment for her services, so Nixthyo's comment could have some weight here) associated with inanna (ishtar) so maybe she isnt as bad as i am assuming and in fact truly wanted to hold back the frenzied flame, holding the failed lord as a trophy of her accomplishments. and like our own Frenzied maiden Hyetta, her eyes are covered... tho covered eyes are normal for even Golden Order practitioners so that says little. very open to interpretation as a Fromsoft actionRPG game should be.

[@venomflame2358]

@@greenpinapple820 That definitely could be it. Another interesting detail that's not explained(as far as I know) is what is happening in the woods around Midra's Manse. Because we've seen NPC's and other life infected with the Frenzy but, the trees,plants even water in the woods around the Manse show signs of Frenzy corruption, hell the winter lanterns are essentially Frenzy made life which doesn't make sense if the flame is meant to burn it all away. Did it become like this because Midra failed to become a lord? Or does that mean becoming the Lord of Frenzy doesn't actually destroy the world but instead corrupt everything in that burning madness making all the same in th that twisted sense?

[@Sewersyrup]

If the frenzied flame implies "frenzy" and a urge to burn it all down, Nanaya could represent a pacifying element, someone that searches frenzied lord contenders and whispers in their ears to calm the flame. As for the corrupted life outside the mansion, it's probably because Midra was held by the sword, his influence unable to burn but still insidious enough to corrupt given that he is a lord of frenzy. Not unlike how the frenzied flame in the base game have the power to corrupt plants and beings at a very smaller scale.

[@arditlika9388]

@@greenpinapple820 I think she's someone who has had experience with the frenzy, but it didn't consume her. Rather it consumed people close to her, so she still indirectly carries its influence. She's not its agent, and her intentions are good.

[@CrazyFikus]

2:18 "The bat statues feel out of place next to the rest of the Keep, and I'd love to hear your theories for what you think they might mean" It means even the Keeps architects knew someone was gonna go prancing around the rafters and they wanted to troll them.

[@cowhale2488]

To me, they don't feel out of place. I just figured it was decoration, like gargoyles on gothic architecture. Makes sense they would be bats since it's the highest ceiling of the tower, and bats tend to rest upside-down high, near ceilings. As for why there are bats there? It's a high and dark part of the keep, with openings to the outside. Also Shadow Keep has a lot of bats in general

[@EL-BAB]

you can get the stone sheathed sword from any of the altars, on my first playthrough i found it in the ancient ruins of rauh

[@cameios]

same

[@LeviathanTamer31]

Which Altar became the Altar of Light then for you? Because I found mine in the catacomb, so my sword of darkness was in the Ruins of Unte. Meanwhile my friend found his in the Ruins of Unte and the sword of darkness was in the catacomb. For both of us the Sword of Light was in the Ancient Ruins of Rauh. Or maybe it's based on order of visitation...

[@cameios]

@@LeviathanTamer31 for me, the light alter was in Unte and the darkness altar was in the catacombs

[@cameios]

And I just read the wiki and it says that what property the altar gives depends on which one you used first

[@EL-BAB]

@@LeviathanTamer31 ive not actually found the catacomb altar yet, but both the ruins of unte altar and ancient ruins of rauh altar can become altars of light depending on which sword you take

[@Gam3Junkie7]

Vaati has supposed a very compelling theory that Nanaya was actually Shabriri, the skin-stealer, who, time and again tries to cultivate or convert a potential subject into the Lord of Frenzied Flame and Midra being a past attempt makes much sense.

[@Sewersyrup]

But in order foe it to make any sense you have to ignore that Midra asks for nanaya forgiveness before removing the sword and unleashing the frenzied flame. The game made plain obvious that he endured the impaling because of her.

[@davidkam4398]

​@@Sewersyrup I'm still confused about the whole Midra thing, butwouldn't he be better suited as a vessel for flame of frenzy the more suffering he endured? We know he was "too weak to become a true lord of the frenzied flame". Maybe Shabriri's plan was for him to endure even longer, until inevitably giving in, by which point he would've hopefully suffered enough to become a true lord

[@arditlika9388]

I think he really stretches the subject to fit his interpretation, I don't see it that way.

[@kadinwisniewski6928]

Somebody else in these comments offered an observation that when we actually finally meet Shabriri himself in-game, he's extremely blunt about what his goals are. He doesn't exactly seem like the subtle, conniving, manipulative type. It feels unlikely that somebody who appears to go around screaming MAY CHAOS TAKE THE WORLD to anyone who will listen would be able to deceive an intelligent man like Midra to the extent that would get Midra to his current state.

[@porkjuices8365]

​@@kadinwisniewski6928 While being blunt about his intentions he is also showing his cunning. Playing off your emotions toward your Finger Maiden he offers an alternative way to burn the erdtree to spare your Maiden from the flames. He is using love a very powerful emotion to manipulate you into walking the path of Chaos. This worked on Vyke. Vyke ended up succumbing to the madness before he could burn the Erdtree but Shabriri still got him to walk the path of Chaos. Not subtle but definitely cunning.

[@mt2r-music]

I actually noticed the divine beast healing thing on my very first try against it and I always wondered why no one is talking about that. I went into the fight with the expectation of another Malenia and funnily enough the first thing it does is heal itself.

[@MalkuthSephira]

I noticed it healing right away too, but was never able to figure out the exact mechanism it was healing with. It seemed connected to the grab at first, but when getting grabbed again seemingly didn't do it, I was lost, and even more lost when a bit later I suddenly saw it had been healed by something. This really brought me some peace of mind, seeing the obvious explanation I overlooked, lol

[@incineakechi5197]

We both noticed the particles when my brother played but I thought it was some weird part of his build as I'd never seen them and we didn't notice the healthbar

[@Klauspetergrandel]

I think Nanaya could very well be a maiden of the Three Fingers (just a theory of course)

[@xantishayde-walker4593]

A GAAAAAME THEORY! Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

[@andrewingram4381]

The golden fires in the Shadow Keep burning boats and camp bonfires are referred to as 意思のある炎 by their internal light nodes, which translates to something like "willful flame" or "flame with a will" - I haven't seen this name used anywhere else so far. What I find interesting is that these golden flames have a golden particle effect around them similar to grace, Miquella Crosses and the golden light in Shaman Village. There is another unique yellow/golden flame found on some small wall sconces, I first noticed it in the Ruins of Unte in front of the room containing the chest. The internal light nodes around these fires call them "Remains_Embers"

[@Ashlevon]

If those flames burn both body and soul, then they share that effect with the yellow chaos flame, which does same, burning away even the spirits.

[@Brim_the_Wizard]

In lion dancing the performers would dance around and collect red envelopes which you'd offer to the dancers for good luck. They do this by "eating" it when the lion head. I'm guessing that's where they got this idea from.

[@squidknightx3459]

For the boats and funeral pyres I saw someone theorize that because Mesmmer's army is cut off from the Erdtree they cremate the dead for lack of Erdtreeburial

[@themain3524]

9:05 Pixel Art is outstanding

[@Zephyrbaby1]

I don’t know if any one else thought this but I thought the monumental figures reminded me of the child monks from demon’s souls who keep the old one sleep.

[@ShadowProject01]

This! Thank you! This was the 1st thing that came to mind when I saw them.

[@patriciapandacoon7162]

yeah, they're called "the monumental". It's what Hawkshaw was referring to when they used that term.

[@ironfoot1938]

Divine beast is one of the first bosses you encounter in the dlc, me: finds it as the third last boss.

[@johannessmith1369]

7:57 There's also a bonus 7th version of Marika at the end of the game. Once we beat the Elden Beast, we cut off her second braid.

[@mirpcow]

Is this shown in the final cutscene in one of the endings? Can you explain further?

[@johannessmith1369]

@@mirpcow All endings' cutscenes show her braid was cut off during the fight. Her hair is shorter and the braided portion is gone. There's not much else to say.

[@arditlika9388]

Cool, another detail to add to my belief that the Elden Beast is Marika herself, or a representation of her.

[@thisusernameis2long927]

@@arditlika9388That’s just straight up wrong.

[@arditlika9388]

@@thisusernameis2long927 no I'm pretty sure I'm very right on that one

[@Rubb3rFac3]

I always thought that the idea of Midra and Nanaya had a baby who died was a poetic one, especially considering that we know how misery and sadness ties in with Frenzy. That theory was cemented for me when I was listening to the soundtrack for Midra's boss fight, at around 1:44 in the song, it sounds like there's a baby wailing in the background.

[@BlackHermit]

The discovery that is truly fascinating is CyberPower!

[@Darkrocmon]

4:40 one could argue that the stone sheathed sword is the best of the 3 with its unique strike damage on a sword vs the other two being sub par.

[@mattb6616]

6:40 it's black not blue. "Altered form of the bright-red dress of the Ranah dancers. These are the black undergarments worn beneath."

[@telerobotic]

I think it’s important to consider the statues of Radagon when considering Marika’s depictions. For example, Radagon statues have the same belt. Additionally, the braid on Erdtree’s Favour is depicted on the opposite side than usual, also a trait shared by Radagon statues.

[@mammalianmolasses4724]

The first discovery was really cool. The rest made me realize I’d been tricked into watching a lore video. Well played.

[@SmallJetStreamSam]

6:12 what I find interesting is that the dancing blade of Ranah bears a striking resemblance to the fireknight weapons

[@ramoraid]

The Firekknights Swords with their spiral resemble the Godslayer's Greatsword more than the Ranah weapons.

[@elleofmusic]

@@ramoraidthey both resemble the Fingerslayer blade with their curved shape imho

[@dillasoul2228]

What I've always found interesting is Marika's dress flowing in an infinity symbol, which could be interpreted as a spiral significantly hinting at the crucibles' connection to life in all forms, orderly or not

[@sircharles8722]

so the thing in Enir Elim, it's a Brazier for burning Incense, it's a giant praying chamber for the priests, they all congregate to pray to their god Miquella, which is why Leta is there as a final frontier, to stop you from going further, as this is the furthest she has ever been allowed to go. In terms of Marika, she was never a shaman, it's a failed translation. The japanese name of the village is Miko village, which actually translates to Shrine Maidens village. Marika wasn't a shaman or anything near that, she was a Shrine Maiden, which is also why the reason why the sacred tears are in a chalice, often placed near or on the shrines scattered around the lands between.

[@vereornox701]

The sound of the burning boats is the same as the bonfires in Dark Souls

[@pascova5088]

The wolf is one of the Red wolves of Radagon. It has the same pointed nose that is only shared by them and the wolf statues behind Maliketh's arena. If we are to presume that Marika is the person surrounded by those wolves, perhaps the "remote lands" refer to her journey to the lands between.

[@rezthemediaruler3768]

The Bats in Shadowkeep are there to mess with you. If you play on a setting where you darkened the Screen enough like in every other FromSoftWare Game, it is hard to distinguish them from the real Bats. A Friend of mine playing this Part of the Keep tried using his Bow to get rid of the Bats, but sometimes shot the Decoys from far away. This gave the real Bats enough time to ambush and harass him. Depending on the light and your Position there, it is really hard to see which Bat is real and which isn’t.

[@gaevlos1281]

Wooden bats feel like Gargoyles that failed to activate

[@SweD5425]

Black Myth: _Disrespectfully steals your heals_ Elden Ring: "Yeah? What else you got?"

[@RonanLittle-o1y]

I believe you misread the furnace pot, messmer's flame burns things down to the spirit, that's why there are the shade enemies everywhere. Frenzy flame is the only one that can destroy spirits

[@padrenuestre]

Messmer's flame burns the spirit too, cleanses/purifies it so to speak. But unlike the frenzied flame it doesn't have it's destructive power, so the soul remain and doesn't perish.

[@jamesleiper6399]

One thing i found is that in Enir Illim there are rooms that have round rugs on them and they cover a round area on the floor that seems to be decorative, One can often use a rug to cover something up, but they could also just destroy it if it were something heretic, but the rugs are slightly upturned leading me to believe that they pull them up occasionally but don't want certain people to see them, whether that is the gods, inquisitors or the player. who knows

[@bobertastic6541]

yes! I was wondering why it would heal sometimes

[@krenaltus5809]

The blue and red dancer thing seems to me to be maybe a cultural split from a common cultural ancestor. Water and fire BOTH keep back the Rot. Maybe some in their culture trusted fire to do the job better than water. The dancer perfume item is red and produces flames. The red dancers seem a little more fanatical in their practices than I feel a water-themed view of the world would give. Perhaps they were the ones shouting "Burn it out!" from the back when the Rot came.

[@chromezinc]

3:51 I loved the lore behind the fight but I hate how they time the arrivals of characters, it felt more like a minigame challenge than the culmination of the dlc lore

[@themissionary58]

Observation: the small stone stacks the shadow undead create in the graveyard of Belurat (where you're invaded by Queelign) look a lot like the sealing stones in sealed spirit springs

[@lupinsensei7456]

The two short braids Marika is probably the most ancient of all and identifies the period in which she was the Geq, at the pinnacle of the hornsent civilization, before the betrayal, also the head is cut, but I think it should've looked as adult Trina effigy, with only one visible eye.

[@_treebeard]

"Hilde's ashes were enshrined as a charm to protect the storehouse." enshrine transitive verb To enclose in or as if in a shrine. To cherish as sacred. To inclose in a shrine or chest; hence, to preserve or cherish as something sacred. There doesn't necessarily have to be a shrine for something to be enshrined.

[@t-mango2491]

6:41 so wait, the blue dancer charm’s reference to a fairy, that could just be a dancer from ancient rauh? It’s interesting to notice the fact that rauh is overgrown, and these dancers who fight in such a way that they’re always moving, if they hail from that place it would make sense, as even though the place is ancient there is a clear chaos, a flow, like the water that collects in basins and dumps into waterfalls, and it reminds me just a touch of miquella’s old rune from the files, the great rune of abundance, perhaps rauh is the place that the abundance is actually represented

[@DataDrain02]

Okay, that first one is REALLY good to know.... Welp, when I do co-op, and fight this boss. I need to remember NOT to heal with a flask when hit by that grab.... So, I DO wonder, does this effect the other means of healing too? Like, if you use Great Heal, or Heal From Afar, does it also heal them?

[@kevinsyoutube634]

Im pretty sure the description for Hilda means that the ashes themselves are the shrine for her. She was either voluntarily or in my opinion involuntarily turned into those ashes. She wanted to protect the specimen, but the storehouse was a means for displaying and housing the remains of said specimen. The storehouse didn't want Hilda to ruin everything they've built, so the turned her into that? Idk thats just my opinion.

[@Er404ChannelNotFound]

Marika's statues in the realm of shadow mirror the appearance of the Rune of Death as an analogue to her appearance in the Lands Between mirroring that of her own rune, the one many took to calling the Rune of Life.

[@benwil6048]

I was surprised I never noticed the heal effect but then you explained it, I never got caught by the grab attack lol

[@shiftybat7318]

I wonder if the bat statues and the sheer number of bats in the area are tied to Messmer's desire to be embraced by Marika's golden glow, as he claims he is "bereft of light" and the gold bat choir leaders sing a song of lament about being cut off from the grace of guidance, forsaken by the erdtree? Perhaps they are just equally mopey goths in Mom's forgotten basement and so keep company?

[@plushstudios8658]

Healing the Divine Beast literally happened to me yesterday! Was helping a guy defeat it when I got grabbed and the big beast has those particles appear. I didn't question it at first thinking it was a spell or something. We were already dealing enough damage and bleed for the healing to be barely noticeable.The more you know!

[@Plasmadolphin69]

Ty for the videos, they help me sleep on rewatching ❤

[@ZKElephant]

2:18 bats in real life tend to nest in groups spanning from a few individuals to massive colonies: perhaps the bat statues are meant to attract real bats. There are a few reasons why bats may be desirable in a specimen storehouse. 1) Depending upon what all they were studying, they could have simply wanted to research the bats. They have some animal remains in the Stonehouse, after all. Perhaps they were trying to discern any medicinal uses for the bats, considering the medical wing they seem to be using to try to fix the shamans/jars 2) They control the pest population, keeping the specimens preserved longer. 3) They may have been looking into uses for the bats in Messmer's Crusade. Guano used to be sought after to make explosives after all. Bats are also vectors of disease.

[@FartsHaveATaste]

The Wolf one makes me wonder if the moon or cosmos ties into why an empyreans have a Wolf Shadow. Or maybe Carians did that? God I love this game

[@arrakaarkana6281]

That's really funny, considering how I never survived the grab attack. So I never saw that effect.

[@rohiogerv22]

I think the "covenant" is to suggest the relationship between Lucaria and the Albinaurics. While the description is most obviously talking about the Shadowlands, it could also be talking about the Consecrated Snowfield as well when it says "no matter what remote lands". A formal covenant through the Carian Royals could be why all human-form Albinaurics, without fail, have a wolf companion.

[@vitaharvey5332]

The golden, braided curtains in Midra’s Manse bring to mind Marika’s braid, although I’m not certain of what implications this could have vis-à-vis Nanaya. 🤔

[@judyfps5059]

My first PC was/is a Cyberpower I got at Best Buy in 2018 for $600 and I’ve slowly upgraded it over the years, but is still in the same case. If it wasn’t for the affordability of cyberpower, I wouldn’t have been able to afford entering into the pc space in the first place.

[@foxywoxy1915]

Not sure if they noted this about the Blind Swordsman but the Blue Cloth belongs to them or whatever nomadic group they hailed from (I swear I remember it being said they were a nomad). And them being blue to represent water

[@Atrashkid]

I think that the contrast of red and blue dancers is meant to be ranks. Red could be an under rank, such as a private in the military, while blue means they're trained warriors

[@faman00]

You missed something about Marika's statues. in the Lands Between, she has a background (I think it's a shed snake skin) that forms an infinity symbol. In the lands of shadow, there's only the bottom part, that she's sitting in. Her butt sticks out the back.

[@Grampa_Swood]

I have a feeling the shield with the wolf on it is a reference to Sif/Artorias. Covenant of the Abyss, and Sif's fight takes place in a forest at night (where he howls at the moon). The design itself quite reminds me of Artorias and the general style of the gods in Dark Souls.

[@JakeSymbolASMR]

The spiral cloth patterns remind me of shimenawa, which means i guess the hornsent spirals generally do. It reminds me of the giant shimenawa doll that carries you up to the “heavens” (fountainhead palace) in Sekiro

[@ManFromThePits]

Messmer the Impaler sounds like a not-so-subtle nod to the real-life historical figure of Vlad the Impaler, better known by the name of Dracula. Since Dracula is associated with bats, due to classic films and books, it makes sense that by extension Messmer would have bats in his keep. I figure the statues are meant to conceal the real bats via camouflage, making them effective ambush predators. Also, Messmer is associated with serpents - the abyssal serpent, specifically. In Souls games, Serpents are generally thought to be imperfect dragons. Similarly, the name Dracula means "Son of the Dragon" or "Little Dragon". A serpent as a mini-dragon, perhaps? Little Dragon?

[@crankpatate3303]

Little side note for the stone shithed sword and why I think it's one of the best straightswords in the game: It's the only straight sword, that deals strike damage! Most strike damage weapons have kinda shitty move sets compared to the straight sword.

[@alextrill5829]

4:17 Its a Cleansing Chamber. Obviously, those within were cleansed... by fire or holy light. Probably all those now-dead monks around channeling it into candidates for divinity. Unworthy turned to ash.

[@MetaphonicEDM]

get smoughtown to see this so he can answer everything xD great vid dude

[@SquishyOfCinder]

4:35 any of these Shrines can give you the Stone-Sheathed Sword as I picked mine up in Rauh.

[@Breiart]

So the dancer of Ranah is linked to the blind swordsman who is Malenia’s teacher. The fact that they share this unique moveset is quite telling. But I wonder if there’s an actual link between her and Tanith, since we know her to be a “dancer from a foreign land”. And if that’s the case, how deep is the link between them? Will it link somehow Messmer’s Base Serpent with Rykard’s God devouring Serpent? I’m quite curious to know how far this link stretches

[@beansnrice321]

I'm pretty sure the gold fire emitting from the burning funeral boats is supposed to be grace being released or runes.

[@cetitanenthusiast776]

I didn't know the "biting grab" attack had that debuff because I've never managed to survive the bite attack even while mashing at full health with 50 vigor and with all the "early" Scadutree Fragments.

[@elleofmusic]

The Carians are heavily coded as the Stark family of ASOIAF- wintery, bonded with wolves and direwolves, and a child with a "third eye" who is destined to become a deity within a tree. Also a potential ancestry with a man known as Night's King, who gave his soul and seed to a moon-pale maiden with blue star eyes.. the Corpse Queen. And since we're on the subject of ASOIAF, I'll just throw it out there that the Shadow Keep bears a lot of resemblance to the massive, cursed castle Harrenhal, known for its many towers, one of which is said to be inhabited by giant bats. I must say it makes me curious whether Messmer's army built it all, or if they merely restored and appropriated a structure that already existed. The multitude of churches certainly seem odd for a strictly monotheistic army, at least. As for Marika's statues in the Shadow Lands... the swirl of cloth behind her forms only a single circle, while on the mainland, it has the triskele shape of the Elden Ring. Since we learn that the Greater Will is symbolized by a solitary, empty ring, it seems like this old version of her statue was about her being a chosen Empyrean of the Greater Will rather than the vessel of the Elden Ring. On top of that... with the lowered position of her arms, her figure is entirely out of line with her Elden Rune's shape. It rather looks more like.. the Rune of Death.

[@GloriousZote]

the under-dress is black, mate

[@PhyrexianacademicSocialStudies]

4:30 I’m pretty sure those miniatures are dolls of those whose ashes now reside in the kiln and surrounding

[@KossolaxtheForesworn]

I dont think the bats mean anything else but fancy decoration. some older high end mansions irl had this kind of decor in places as well, not only gargoyles outside working as water sprouts for fain but sometimes there would be some sculpted into the high ceiling just for fun. some old churches have similar things indoors as well. doubt there is any other reason for it than that.

[@StylesX]

Hey Hawkshaw, where did you get the item picture files from? I found the ones from the base game, but I really wanted to look at the dlc item artwork in higher quality.

[@dantevalenti3867]

At 5:59 nanaiah kinda looks like she is wearing fias hood on her head underneath the scarf.

[@JoshBran_D_On]

Theres also a portrait of what seems to be marika in roundtable hold without any braids

[@cameranwall]

It’s so cool that Pim from Smiling Friends has an ER KZbin channel

[@TheFizio]

Messmer's kindling confirms that Melina is a daughter of marika. Possibly one of the 1st?

[@MrMuziekman]

i think those flames on the boats are not regulair ones the sounds almoost makes it seems like they are some kind of Holy flames

[@tiredasf107]

Finally someone spoke about those fires

[@sidarend7105]

Ahto City soundtrack on the outtro hits a spot

[@phattadontungtrongsit4137]

The thumbnail is pretty funny cause the “head” of the boss was being held by the dancer so he is just poring the heal on nothing.

[@ArcRay20]

6:39 i will tell you right now that my favorite color is blue in all of its varying shades. and that under dress? is black. its not even navy blue, its just straight up black. even showing it in the blue glowing flower fields like this? it still looks black. it would take EXTREME colored lighting to make it to appear a different color. like Midra's remembrance spell for example. it creates such a bright yellow that an early screen shot of the DLC showing it off had me thinking there was gonna be a new yellow armor set with a silly hat. what was it in the end? the Shadow Vulgar Militia set. a black hooded, dark brown/red armor set.

[@demine100018]

0:44 that explains so much my first play through

[@N7Allfather]

nice choice using mannans theme from kotor for the outro!

[@julianadams3710]

The wooden bats are there to deter thieves, the actual bats serve the same purpose. Messmer knights could easily go up there and clear them out but they don’t because they’re a free security system.

[@darklordmagris7495]

I think the Divine Beast heal might be bugged. I've been grabbed by it before and have ended up with the debuff on me, but I've never seen it actually heal the boss in my own sessions when I use a healing flask to recover from the grab. Sometimes the debuff wouldn't even be consumed at all. Definitely using healing flasks, not the blue ones.

[@brianirwin8111]

Hearing ABZÛ's OST anywhere is such a tug on the heartstrings. Great choice.

[@tylerharper5306]

Divine dancing beast was the second to last boss for me I hadn’t realized I didn’t beat belarut since I peaked my head in there but ended up going to the shadow keep

[@nerozone_]

The divine beast one really messed me up, I was second guessing myself if this guy healed or not

[@CapriSUNextract]

The bat statues are like scarecrows for the bats to keep them out of the rafters and their droppings from getting all over the collection. (didn't work)

[@BlueAsterismSolstice]

Fun fact Divine Warriors are affected by Beastlure Pots, but not Curseblades who are seen as unworthy to becoming Divine Warriors.

[@samfish2550]

The flames look similar to the guidence of gold and may be lit in the shadow keep so that the souls of his dead warriors can be drawn back to the world of the living and take corporeal form again, even without the guidance of grace.