Complete Elden Ring Lore Recap (before Shadow of the Erdtree): Episode 1

Welcome to our first episode on the Timeline of Elden Ring - the Ages of Ancients. Covering the Lore of everything that preceded the Erdtree, Marika, Godfrey and almost everything else from the present day. Topics include the ancient Divine Towers, the Dragons, the Gloam-Eyed Queen, Banished Knights, Deathbirds, Fire Monks, and much much more!
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Commission Thumbnail art by Misty: x.com/slurpycan
References:
Zullie the Witch on Titan Skulls: • Elden Ring - I should'...
Tarnished Archeologist on Varna Burials: • Found in Farum Azula |...
Map Genie: mapgenie.io/elden-ring/maps/t...
Elden Ring OST - The Final Battle
Elden Ring OST - Opening
Age of Mythology - Hoping For Real Betterness
Elden Ring OST - Ending
Hollow Knight OST - Queen’s Gardens
Abzu OST - Seriola Lalandi
Subnautica OST - In Bloom
Shadow of the Colossus OST - Lakeside
Hades OST - The Painful Way
Dark Souls 2 OST - Majula
Rome Total War OST - Intro Greek
Kingdom Two Crowns OST - A Simple Question
Titan Souls OST - Between Our World & the World Beyond
Dark Souls 2 OST - King Vendrick
Elden Ring OST - Divine Tower
Rome Total War OST - The Enemy is Near
Savage: Battle for Newerth OST - Lost Hills
Reus OST - A Steady Start
Kameo: Elements of Power OST - Welcome to Cameo’s World
Hades OST - From Olympus
Stardew Valley OST - In The Deep Woods
Hollow Knight OST - Kingdom’s Edge
Conan The Barbarian OST - Tower Of Set
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time OST - Holli Jolli Village
Rome Total War OST - Drums of Doom
Rome Total War OST - Soldiers’ Chant
Aragami OST - Aragami (Main Theme)
Super Mario Odyssey OST - Tostarena Night
Flower OST - Floating on a Gentle Breeze
Cult of the Lamb OST - Knucklebones
Eastshade OST - Bloomsacs
Age of Mythology - Never Mind the Slacks and Bashers
Croc OST - Bonus Area C
Kameo: Elements of Power OST - Camp
Titan Souls OST - Depths
Slay the Spire OST - The Unknown
It Takes Two OST - Opposites Attract
Journey OST - Nascence
Aragami OST - House of the Raven
Shadow of the Colossus OST - Lakeside
Kameo: Elements of Power OST - Fire Dance
Abzu OST - Architeuthis
Kingdom Two Crowns OST - Equinox
Shadow of the Colossus OST - Prologue: To the Ancient Land
#eldenringlore #eldenring #gaming
Hawkshaw.

[@Hawkshaw]

We hope you enjoyed the first episode of our Timeline - there is plenty yet to come. Of course, everything is only our opinion! We just didn’t want to slow down the video by saying that as a constant preface. This has been a LOT of work. It is well known how difficult it is to cleanly piece the complete history Elden Ring together but we have tried our best to provide a compelling sequence of events, while still keeping the flow of the video and not labouring any specific points. Additionally, if some conclusions may feel confusing, note that we have reached them not by thinking about each event in isolation, but by balancing the overall impact on the entire timeline. So while the odd event may appear more complicated when they happen, hopefully in the context of the entire timeline you can see why we thought it made the most sense in the end. As always, thank you for your support, and see you in the next video!

[@tuckddd9]

Aw hell… dlc trailer…

[@cujo7600]

YESSSS A timeline video, cant wait to watch this forwards backwards and upside down till the second installment, stay safe!!

[@Unkindpigeon.]

Maybe the dragons pulled a Patrick. "We take Farum Azula and PUSH it somewhere else!"

[@andyghkfilm2287]

“That idea… may _just be crazy enough…_ TO GET US ALL DESTINED DEATH!!!”

[@daveyjoneslocker4703]

Man I love how this video just… starts. No fluff, no hand holding, no bad jokes.

[@allthe1]

It's true that as a player this is the exact feeling that got me hooked. And I appreciate that more in everything in life.

[@marcik09]

no hand holding allowed? :(((

[@_CrimsonBlade]

This garbage has no story no character development or anything…here let me make a quick from soft character “hey tarnished we are exactly the same” 2 minutes later he diead and you’re supposed to feel sorry for him…no fromsoft that not how you make interesting characters

[@marcik09]

@@_CrimsonBlade but you know fromsoft games are not supposed to have character development, right? It's a genre of its own, experiencing the vague story from 3 lines of dialogue each. Trying to find a traditional story without lore videos is like looking sci fi blasters in a victorian costume romance.

[@daveyjoneslocker4703]

@@_CrimsonBlade you went so far out of your way to leave this incorrect and whiny comment. Not only did you come to an Elden Ring story video despite your dislike of its story, you replied to my comment about the nature of the video with a completely unrelated complaint. The characters in Elden Ring absolutely have development, but yes their plot points are told with much brevity much more like a poem than a novel. Much of their history or motivations are obscured as well. If you care to find it, you can learn of a characters ambitions, motivations, betrayals and downfalls. Characters not only have development but true intrigue and mystery. No one would hold it against you if you just said you don’t prefer this style of story telling and prefer a linear narrative rich with every detail of the cast. That’s fine man, basically everyone who likes stories also like the most obvious and traditional method of story telling. But you don’t need to come so far out of your way to IGNORANTLY and INCORRECTLY bitch about one of the few games that breaks the mold in its story telling. Fucking loser.

[@JohnnyAppleFiend]

Something that has occurred to me regarding the Draconian people is that "short lived" may be relative to the dragons and beasts around them. So they may even live longer than traditional humans but much shorter than what surrounded them in society. Love the channel

[@Hawkshaw]

That's a cool idea!

[@punishedvenomsnake716]

Bruh, literally not even half an hour since the new Shadow of the Erdtree story trailer and Hawkshaw uploads a 1+ hour ER lore vid. To say that we're eating well would be the understatement to end all understatements 🔥

[@WASDLeftClick]

Like Christmas dinner at Hogwarts

[@kagunslinger767]

Your use of Shadow of the Colossus and Age of Mythology OST made me happy

[@_CrimsonBlade]

Game is terrible

[@fungeon_bloke7525]

Timeline mega-vids are back! Super excited for this series!

[@skyhornet8677]

I do not think the imps or the watchdogs were created by the "titans" they are clearly newer creations given how consistently they are employed in Catacombs, which were created during the time of the Erdtree, used for Erdtree burial. The hero's grave are also a modern creation, which commonly employs them. They are even used as decorative protection in the rooftops of Leyndell houses. While there are some moments where we see the giant golems, which I believe are indeed ancient creations of "Titans," are protecting modern structures, they are more commonly seen in a ruinous state catatonic state scattered all over the place, or straight up in random areas. We do not see this attribute on the Imps or Watchdogs at all, every single time we find them they are there with clear intention to protect Erdtree creations. Not to mention their creation and detailing looks completely different from the architectural and design style of the "Titans."

[@useruseruser501]

I don't disagree with everything, except the catacombs are far older than the golden order/urd tree. The catacombs are filled with coffins/coffin cutouts and urns and urn cutouts. Why would the golden order build in death ritual features not aligned with tree burial? I think the catacombs being under ground naturally led to the giant root system being exposed in them. They got repurposed.

[@Thunderous333]

@@useruseruser501 Repurposed, yes, but definitely not the same as its initial creation. The imps are still probably Erdtree era.

[@nicedraeger2794]

I was today years old when I learned about Crystal darts' interaction with golems, imps etc

[@jerryb216]

It's really great for when you are a bit under level or newer, but I didn't find out until much past both of those times lol

[@DeadheadYates]

I imagine that the consumable/throwable items are highly useful for new and lower leveled players, then you start either rune farming or naturally hitting the peak of your NG power curve and most of the items don't factor in due to your weapon and/or magic skills being more than enough to take care of damn near everything the game throws at you. But I bet by NG+2 or 3 is when the enemies begin scaling past the soft caps of many players attributes and combat skills to the point where every little bit of extra breathing room, offensive and defensive buffing, and general combat utility offered by the consumables really comes back into play since it's the only way to meaningfully boost your character past the practical limits of the leveling system

[@Thechezbailey]

I immediately thought of a couple fights I'd like to revisit...

[@mitchelherald3271]

Nothing excites me more than a new Hawkshaw video. The Tarnished Archaeologist is close, but Hawkshaw is the OG.

[@czupryndaniel]

TTA focuses on his job. Same with Hawkshaw. A lot of others just babble and make clickbaits.

[@PepperoniMage]

​@@czupryndaniel^Absolutely this! So many ER lore-tubers feel like they're chasing the algorithm and subs more than actually working on their craft.

[@enxman7697]

My two favorites by far too!

[@loudvisions9156]

Smoughtown held me over, but I knew ya boy was gonna come with the heat. No one dives deeper! Bless your work, good sir!

[@tristanneal9552]

Only a quarter of the way through but I really enjoyed the dragon segment about Farum Azula. The three pillars were really nicely laid out

[@professormurdoc1359]

I’m only theee minutes in and I had to say: that opening was epically written and delivered. I thought you were quoting an Ancient Greek natural philosopher about the cosmogenesis of creation. Can’t wait to watch the rest.

[@KitsuneShapeShifter]

A little bit of bible in there actually :)

[@_CrimsonBlade]

Trash

[@TheLadyFl3x]

Came to say this same thing; I've been studying and reading into a lot of mysticism and religious traditions, and the beginning sounds like something I might read out of a trandlation of one of the Vedas (ancient proto-Hindu scriptures).

[@bonkaddicct8620]

my new headcanon is that the ginormous skeletons are the ones who made the golem type enemies for fun like how we make little dnd or warhammer figurines. Like they basically made their own little armies and made them fight for fun.

[@halcyon62277]

Oh yes!!! Back at full blown hour vids!? Sign me up!!

[@argosvinandi5064]

I can’t believe your channel hasn’t broken 200k subs yet, honestly so underrated. Easily in the top 3 lore channels at least. I appreciate you 👍

[@greatone5245]

Hawkshaw secret fromsoftware employee confirmed????

[@coreyrachar9694]

"This is not a bite sized piece of lore sentimentalism." This is a glorious return of the True Hawkshaw. Been waiting for this video since the very first hawkshaw lore drop 8 years ago. The recent content has a sort of pomp and goofiness to it that I just don't really vibe with but this.... This hardcore lore shit just hits too hard, I want it directly in the veins.

[@RepellentJeff]

Boy, From Software were already masters of world building. Throw in George R. R. Martin, and we end up with quite possibly one of the best fantasy worlds ever imagined. It’s just staggering.

[@useruseruser501]

It really is incredible

[@cgzepp]

DLC trailer and Hawkshaw in the same day? God's timing is always right

[@viaetveritasetvita4227]

Lets go, baby! Long form Hawkshaw!

[@pabloquijadasalazar7507]

1:03:27 That links to grafting, like from Stormveil Castle. I think it’s apples that you must cut the sapling, and graft onto it a branch from a mature apple tree, in order to get the sapling to make the same fruit as the donor’s tree. So, the erdtree’s roots connecting to the greattree would make sense if Marika grafted the erdtree onto the stump of the greattree.

[@whiteboideku983]

Can't wait for part 2

[@ravenseeker8267]

you know, this is kinda ballsy project to do right before the dlc lmao. Great work as always tho, love your guys' content

[@tristanneal9552]

Same, I'd have been sweating after watching that story trailer lol

[@Hawkshaw]

Definitely not ideal, but we wanted to realise the work rather than have it on hold just because of uncertainty around the DLC. In this way, it can serve as a history of our own understanding too! And we'll definitely return to the project somehow in the future

[@ravenseeker8267]

@@Hawkshaw Perfectly reasonable, nothing worse than a project getting stuck in limbo. Love your work lads.

[@MarioBusters]

Everyone knows the routine, grab a seat and some food, time to watch.

[@Darfail]

Man you have such a way with words. This is awesome.

[@caseyvines9417]

Souls Lord Hawkshaw blessing us once again. Thanks for the fantastic content

[@kamantariq2513]

Now i has something to watch and listen to while i wait on bloodborne loading screens farming for best gems

[@NOVAROMA753BC]

Based

[@matheussantos9367]

Amazing video! I love timeline videos, this deserves a lot more views! Personally, I think the Gloam Eyed Queen can be placed further into the timeline, but can't be sure about it. If she was active during the Ancient Dragon era and was an empyrean, how come she never ascended into Godhood? I think she's more related to Marika in way or another, and her Godskin Hunt killed so many Demigods that forced Marika to remove the rune of death from the Elden Ring. Enia says Demigods are all Marika's offspring, so the Gloam Eyed Queen very unlikely was killing demigos left and right unpunished since the Anciet Era.

[@etinarcadiaego7424]

The big bang. Also people, always choose the broad path of chaos because it's better than making up your mind and being locked out of any single path.

[@zensempai7371]

Great video - one many of us did not realize they wanted - rather what we needed!

[@jasN86]

Great video, very in-depth. Thanks for taking the time to create and share this!

[@Quader417]

Thank you for letting me eat good today 🙏🏽 i only get timeline videos from queelag

[@nemesisundead83]

This video is so on point 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Hawkshaw]

Thank you!

[@Janziepoo]

43:13 Hollijolli Village from Mario e Luigi Partners in time! Heart Strings Touched!

[@matthewhouston2376]

This helped me understand Elden Ring SOOOO much better!

[@bloocheez3]

The whole video was impressive but that intro in particular was exceptionally written.

[@Luaeria]

Extraordinary work! Can’t wait to watch the next two!

[@tailsfox45]

This is one of the most comprehensive and densely packed lore videos ever made about elden ring, good job

[@1siege]

Wow great work. The visuals and the commentary are 11/10 quality

[@bisiart]

yoooo that thumbnail is SICK

[@sadghst862]

This, is an amazing video. Thay intro and you yourself rival Smoughtown and others. Highly impressed

[@devinguy]

This work is pivotal. Fantastic stuff!

[@Private-Potato]

First time I’m this early to one of your videos. (Look at the time length) Guess I need popcorn.

[@ozsun9736]

I was waiting for this one >:)

[@migeeto]

Absolutely adore this video, extremely well put together, love the blending of prose and detailed lore explanation. You're one of the only channels that considers not only facts such as item descriptions, but also literary themes, metaphors, and symbolism. Think this will be a fantastic summary of the timeline as we understand it pre-DLC. The one thing I will say I disagree on is the portrayal of the ancient dynasty as a "rot civilization". I'm just nitpicking but nowhere besides the grand cloister is there any link at all between the ancient dynasty and rot. Personally, the grand cloister is symbolic of their civilization as a whole - once it covered the full lands between but now it's hard to tell they even existed - who they were and what they believed is fully up for debate. Their civilization has rotted away, leaving almost no remains.

[@Shadowcthuhlu]

I love everyone chilling by the fire - I assume boggart brought the food to this chill party.

[@manamejeffbeezos1238]

I had no idea how much I needed this video

[@jayaskew5384]

Love your vids. Thanks! Big fan of the AOM music too 😎

[@coblamoration1102]

Amazing work. Simply Marvelous.

[@mgene8093]

Hell yes dog ! Love the video

[@RareEvening]

You have the perfect voice to sleep to bro. Very easygoing and easy on the ears.

[@christiansargent6053]

The hidden but apparent lore surrounding Mesmer is so cool, like it was right under our noses. All of the giants are impaled by the same shaped spear, it's the shape of Mesmers spear. The capital is already covered in ash, signifying that at some point the erdtree was burnt prior to the main narrative. Snakes are associated with traitors (gladiator helm). Mesmer wields a very powerful looking flame with his red hair, very reminiscent of the fire giants, and he also has those snakes that very much so characterize him. I think we're gonna get some really cool lore that connects these dots. maybe radagon was once the leader of the fire giants/vassal for their fire god, and Mesmer was his son with marika either before or after their merging.

[@tropezando]

Marika is the one who likes to hit it and quit it (see: Rennala, the dlc trailer that talks of affsir and seduction), so I'm inclined to believe she's the one who is the dragon's missing god. It would explain why one of them just casually decided to storm Leyndell one day.

[@aesonone]

the intro bangs wtf

[@Fickled_65]

When Hawkshaw uploads, I GRAB THE POPCORN ❤

[@error-zq8yo]

most excellent, the video is great!

[@TheScrootch]

With the divine towers sitting perfectly around the impact crater, it almost looks like some ritual was performed to summon a meteorote to wipe out those titans.

[@kingnro1]

41:30 I don't quite understand why the different factions associated with Glintstone had to be around during the Titan age. Couldn't they have made contact with the Crystalians way later? Also, I've figured that the dragon imagery on the Forge might be akin to a trophy of the Giants succesfully routing the Ice Dragons, and not a mark of cooperation.

[@kingnro1]

I also think that the thinner symbolic depiction of a tree could easily be explained as a younger Erdtree, and the plumper one as a more recent image of a more developed Erdtree.

[@mackdontpayforstrange3207]

Oh a Hawkshaw timeline?! Yes please!!!!

[@nomnomnom799]

Marika bless you for posting the songs used

[@dbfzato-1327]

bit unrelated but i wonder is the serpent hunter weapon gonna get the buff against messmer, the new trailer looked nuts, the thing that looked like a tree made of bodys reminds me of rykards boss arena

[@igeljaeger]

man you are hustling this year

[@literally_leo]

Excellent video

[@theredknight9314]

I like the video, dont agree with everything, but i like it

[@loudvisions9156]

The ancestral spirit's have, from what I can discern, megalithic type construction. Thought it was the oldest or one of the oldest. The divine tower section is genius!

[@timsonnenberg6977]

The description of Elden Stars and 17:50 might actually tie together from the sound if it.

[@Mainlymundane]

Love this

[@dvdivine1962]

Easily the most hardest part of the lore, besides Marika and Radagon. Hopefully the dlc expands greatly on them and doesnt leave more questions.

[@MapMonkey96]

We rise

[@fkaliases]

The beast part got me thinking about Boc. Is Boc our shadow as a tarnished? Is he older than he seems? His mum was a seamstress and my mind wanders to the godskins, especially with his dialogue concerning the golden needle... Dunno if there are any actual connections, but it might be interesting to take a closer look.

[@Butwhy23]

whoa... that's so cool

[@jackdubois1512]

Amazing work. I love all hawkshaw videos. Id honestly be shocked if anything here is proven wrong

[@jesuschristsupersta1]

Was that music at the end shadow of the colusses? Beautiful

[@Deadgye]

30:45 "the Empyrean" is also plural. And the raw JP uses the same 神人の影 as everywhere else. It is very unlikely it implies a shared Empyrean for all shadows.

[@Vaelithe]

There's something inside the divine towers that doesn't get much play, if at all, because I never see anyone mention it. While in the divine tower of Caelid, I noticed a relief carving tucked away on the walls overhanging the spiral stair. There is the one and only depiction of a fish and not just one of them. They are encircling what looks to be a beastman corpse or what I interpret to be a fetus due to its positioning. There's only one fish in the game, and two, if you count the Elden Beast as one despite it looking like a plesiasaur. What age would have built carvings representing the bestowance of blessings on the beastmen? Seems totally unrelated to titans, golems, or crystals. Check it out.

[@Vaelithe]

Here I am again at 28:56 and still thinking about this unnoticed relief carving depicting fish and aquatic filigree encircling the tiny beast.

[@Vaelithe]

Again I am here at 57:06 you mention seat of the sun and sun realm. Do we know any fish related to maybe something golden? Asking for a friend.

[@Curlysamurai]

I find the conclusion that the ancient dynasty worshipped rot quite stretched. If you look at their ruins all around the map you'll notice tree iconography. Look at the dynast statue itself.

[@genopurple]

I liked subscribed saved the video and most likely won't watch this all the way but my god you need some credit for the lore dump with the effort to make it not dry.

[@BathroomTile]

For a second I thought "Sound System - Dreamscape" was gonna start playing at the start of the video.

[@mitchl6896]

+1 for age of mythology soundtrack

[@anonymousmurphy]

What are the odds this would drop the same day as the SotE story trailer?

[@gunnarschlichting9886]

Apparently 100% lol.

[@opheliaorochimaru]

I like the video but it makes a lot of assumptions about the titans, we have little to no hard evidence for what they are or anything they did. I don't really see a clear connection between ancient architecture and the titans simply by the stone blocks used being big.(especially considering magic is a thing) I also don't really see anything suggesting that the titans were responsible for creating the golems or crystalians. Really I think the alabaster and onyx lords, or rather their ilk, seem much more likely to be responsible for what's being attributed to the titans here. It's an interesting idea but this seems to state these theories as if fact. Still though who knows, and again the video and really all your work is great :)

[@opheliaorochimaru]

Considering the western religious inspirations here and there, maybe the titans are akin to the nephilim and got a giant meteor to wipe them out. It could make sense considering their size and the fact they all seem very old and very dead. Just a theory and food for thought.

[@UtinniTim]

I dunno, it’s gonna take some convincing for me to believe the Crystalians were created by the first stone-age beings. Descriptions in the game make it seem like they came from the primeval current & they’re always protecting glintstone wherever it’s landed.

[@Hawkshaw]

Fair enough! We felt that the wording "hewn" from crystal was more active and distinct compared to the other lifeforms that arose from the stars, but there's very little to pin them down in the end

[@Shotzeethegamer]

The word for greattree is just big roots.

[@Rags2Roses]

The Great tree IS the Erdtree. Remember the Erdtree has already been burned down. So that Golden giant skyscraper tree seen in the beginning of the game is it's phantom/non-physical form. The Great tree is the previous name of the Erd tree 🤯🤯🤯

[@cammyshill3099]

No, the Erdtree has never been burned down, it's literally impossible to do so since the rune of death was sealed and the Flame of Ruin confined. The "ethereal" fake tree is also nonsense. More Tarnished Archaeology junk. God, his stuff is so terrible.

[@Rags2Roses]

@@cammyshill3099 wasn't the first sin the burning of the Erdtree? How can that be the cardinal sin of it didn't happen...

[@cammyshill3099]

@@Rags2Roses It can be, because there were these things called the Fire Giants who controlled the one flame capable of burning the sacred tree that the Golden Order has based their entire religion on, and the Golden Order waged a war and defeated them just so no one could ever burn the tree. The mere concept and memory of the Giants is enough to establish the cardinal sin, but it is no proof that the tree ever burned. It couldn't as long as the Flame of Ruin was guarded and Destined Death being bound, by the very laws of physics of the world.

[@Bleilock1]

​@@cammyshill3099 who took a dump into your coffe?

[@cammyshill3099]

@@Bleilock1 Facts apparently, because I keep being right. If you think I'm wrong on something, feel free to try making an argument about it.

[@Havok-cq8jo]

I've never heard anything about the beginning segment about the titans and them making divine towers and everything else he showed so it would be helpful to know what his sources are. I also doubt those colossal skeletons were the titans if they did exist because why would they need elevators in the towers if they are as big if not bigger than the towers, plus they would be bigger than all the structures he showed. I could absolutely be wrong but I want to know where he is getting the information on the titans because i've followed elden ring lore as long as its been around and this is the first i've heard of it, so at the moment all the titan stuff seems to mainly be speculation he's stating as fact.

[@cullysloy2705]

17:18 the rock tower at mt.Gelmir was created by a star fell beast. Maybe that solves it?

[@reaty05]

In the dlc a titan may be a boss over a fire giant and a handful of new golems

[@echofiend3722]

Sometimes Hawkshaw's voice sounds just a little bit like Micolash from Bloodborne! when he lingers on certain words. Mean this as a huge compliment lol

[@cammyshill3099]

The cinematic work here is impressive, and obviously a lot of passion went into it, but the lore itself is based on a lot of dangerous assumption when not outright making stuff up, bluntly speaking. Like, there are some facts we can all agree on. Then there are theories, that here are presented as fact even though they're actually far from supported by the game, they just make some sort of sense. Placidusax's god being also the Gloam-Eyed Queen is an enticing theory that I like, but regardless of my personal preferences it's never even hinted at in the game's text. Some Godskin Apostles show up in Farum Azula, and that's about it. The giant corpses, called "titans" here (a name that never appears in the game), could reasonably be connected to the Fire Giants, and the Fire Giants reasonably be connected to the construction of much of the ancient stone architecture of the game (although the Divine Towers seem to have a different aesthetics and I don't think they can be associated with the Giants, they probably predate them and just about everyone else except possibly the Ancient Dragons), and also reasonably be associated with some of the golem constructs, the fire-powered ones at least, but less so the catacomb guardians that seem way outside of the Giants' area of interest (it could be speculated that the Crystalians built the golems, some in the past for the giants and some for the catacombs, but it's a wild guess). But, a "superpower"? That fought wars with... Some other dudes, I guess? To put it bluntly, this is not in the game. No such lore exists on an ancient Giant empire, let alone any text that even references the existence of those giant corpses. The theory crafting on the different depictions of the Erdtree seem way excessive to me. Christians don't depict Jesus always with the same face, and this isn't indicative of some giant conspiracy about different Jesuses. A stylized depiction of the Erdtree is just at that, at most you can assume that they depicted different moments in the Erdtree's growth. Then there's the stuff completely out of left field. Like, "the god of many faces" (who?), or the "Greattree Empire" (literally what?). Entire cycles of burning and rebuilding the massive tree that gets mentioned by absolutely no one ever across the entire text and dialogue of the game? The Crucible showing up only shortly before Marika's appearance instead of at the very beginning of the timeline? How does all life manages to get blended inside the Crucible if mankind, dragons and giants have been around for millennia already at that point? The Crucible created life in the world, and countless little details make it align with the Greater Will and the Elden Beast, allowing us to place the creation of the Crucible and life shortly after the Golden Comet sent by the Greater Will, and then the Ancient Dragons came forth, followed by everyone else. This is in blatant contradiction of written Crucible lore. But the worst part has to be the "Greattree Empire". Like, is this supposed to be Marika? No, because apparently she came after, so the Greattree Empire is a never mentioned, never seen, even by groups outside of the Golden Order, great empire that ruled the land and no one knows who they were, especially the game because From definitely never put anything about them in the game. The timeline goes that the Ancient Dragons, closely related to gold, were the first creatures to arise and create civilization, then the beastmen rose to serve the dragons and possibly other races came to inhabit the Earth, then the dragons fell from grace and Marika showed up, although the timeline is very nebulous here. There is no reference of intermediary empires between the dragons and Marika as far as we know, and that's probably because of the purge she did in SotE and we should find more about the real history in the DLC, but regardless of that there is no mention anywhere of any "empire" in the current game's lore. That's made up stuff.

[@33elkyeet91]

This is better than crippling porn addiction

[@GamerSix66]

Is anyone else expecting melina/gloam eyed queen to be an optional boss in the dlc depending on your ending path? I really think she will be in fact I'm kind of banking on it, but I don't see many people talking about it. What do you guys think

[@michaelsoftelbows]

Maybe the true elden ring is all the friends we made along the way

[@Deadgye]

Lots of interesting conjectures. Some I disagreed with, but may have been convinced to flip on. Some I'm still skeptical of. And some I have to hard disagree with. I really can't get behind the theory of the ancient dynasty being innately linked to rot at their source. What type of stagnation worshiping society builds aqueducts to ferry water throughout their cities? Personally, I'm of the opinion that the ancient dynasty likely inherited golem crafting and created the burial golems and maybe even the crystallians. The stonework of the ancient dynasty lends to them fitting nicely in the partial gap between the age of titan builders and the age of the eternal empire.

[@Hawkshaw]

Fair enough! There's definitely a load of options with some areas, and it would be fitting to be a bridge point between the two ages. So you think the aqueducts relate to the ancient dynasty, not the Nox?

[@ITBEurgava]

10:43 I was expecting the bow to bend, not the string to stretch like that...

[@NedreddDwr]

The dragons circling are modern dragons, not sure if you say this later in the video, but if you do ont, then there's some new info for you!

[@BRedd10815]

I've had an epiphany that The Lands Between are named thusly because they were once vertically between the Eternal Cities below and the temples of Farum Azula above. The Divine Towers may have reached to Farum Azula, or at least the one isolated tower, or perhaps a central tower that is now gone. Obviously now Farum Azula has drifted away or been forcefully moved, possibly by whatever has caused a gigantic area of land between Leyndell and Caelid to be completely missing [kept watching the video, agree with a meteorite extinction event]. Some of this area does appear to be in the Shadow Realm from the DLC. God I love this lore and I hope we get some more questions answered soon.

[@dr_kenko752]

I wished to ask about ancestral followers. They are found in ruins of ancient dynasty above and below ground. Could they be true remnants of dynasty and not claymen who could had been used as golem type servants. If ancestral followers really are these remnats it could indicate slow decline of culture into primal tribalism that could also been influenced by growing crucible at that time.

[@Hawkshaw]

Potentially! Our current thinking is that they're a very recent tribe, who have left modernity to return to nature. Something that will be looked at in later episodes, but we've also done some deep dives into them in previous videos if you're interested!

[@igorhq1]

What is that God of Many Faces thing? Cannot find anything about it anywhere.

[@Hawkshaw]

We first talked about it more in our Snake Iceberg video, but there is no text reference in game. It's a concept fans of George R R Martin's work will be familiar with though

[@austinlanger4767]

Wouldn’t the Azula impact occur before Godwyn’s death? The Dragon Prayerbook is located there and Dragon Communion is post-Gransaxx.