Elden Ring - It's deeply disturbing

[@ZullietheWitch]

I have another, older video about the Wormfaces that goes into more detail about their appearance and datamined information, so I didn't want to retread it for this. If you're curious about that, take a look here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaTJdJhqp7qqg7M

[@powerballpamela6246]

You should use AI Ranni to read out your text it'd be pretty bitchin'

[@ZullietheWitch]

@@powerballpamela6246 I wouldn't really be comfortable using AI to copy a voice actor's performance without their consent or compensation.

[@SophiaLilithUwU]

Based Zullie @@ZullietheWitch

[@vinayakkothari6162]

​@@ZullietheWitch professionals have *standards*

[@JoseViktor4099]

I have to ask. Its is possible to actually remove the worms from the faces of Wormfaces? Or is it actually part of the model?

[@fellowmemeenjoyer3223]

The slugs having worms for eyes reminds of that one parasite that causes slugs to have similar looking eyes and changes their behavior to be eaten as soon as possible to spread it, that may be a source of inspiration for those

[@Zarithyeen]

You might be onto something here🧐

[@DieshockX]

Oh I remembers listening to a video talking about this parasite. Too lazy to find the source but I do remember it turn slugs eyes green and taking control of host's brain to seek higher places(like a tree branch or something). The green eyes is supposed to make the slug easier to be noticed by birds. I could be missing some of it but thats basically all I can recollect about the thing.(sorry if this is hard to read, English isnt my first language)

[@Luismayer77]

This is 100% correct

[@korvin312]

My thought exactly - Leucochloridium paradoxum - the appearance helps birds see them better and ensure they are a target to spread further parasitic infection to future snails. I wonder, given the association with Deathblight, if there is some type of worship of death in it's current manifestation. I always got a cult vibe from the Wormfaces as they hold onto pieces of wood. It makes me thinks of the prisoners and Corhyn's robe, which is tied to a dedication of faith.

[@RYNOCIRATOR_V5]

@@Zarithyeen Not so much "on to something" as very obviously hit the nail on the head.

[@drossbossofsauce5649]

Wormfaces are probably one of the most messed up enemies fromsoft has made design-wise. Love the lore videos on stuff most people wouldnt ever see or think of in these games!

[@LautrecOfCarim]

I still consider the eyeball-hand-baby-things from the Profaned Capital to be the bearer of that title, but wormfaces are definitely close.

[@apophisstr6719]

The most messed up thing about them is how fast they could run with those skinny legs! NOOOOOOO

[@Political_Brainrot_Auditor]

@@LautrecOfCarim The Monstrosities of Sin, yes. Those things live in my head rent-free. And the fact that they only appear in one location, do not respawn, and are incredibly easy to miss, all just makes them even more disturbing.

[@Waaytree]

For me it's winter lanterns. (Also because of how they sing, attack the player and give them permanently frenzy, even after they went out of their line of sight).

[@Political_Brainrot_Auditor]

@@Waaytree That’s another good one. Man, I wish they’d do something with Bloodborne. A PC release, a remaster, a sequel. Anything, ffs. IP is just collecting dust.

[@Demokaze]

There are some events in Elden Ring that repeat every time you refresh the world such as the misbegotten executing a knelt soldier in Castle Morne (after a room behind the pile of corpses), bow marionettes executing a soldier on Mt Gelmir (far left before taking the ladder to/from the merchant), a crucible knight fighting beastmen on Farum Azula etc. And there is a curious one in a ruins of this Altus forest where a wormface shoots deathblight vomit on a slug damaging it. They're unnamed/unmarked ruins north of the minor Erdtree and the event triggers as soon as the tarnished jumps on the floor of the ruins (without the wormface noticing).

[@jeffd830-i8q]

Nice work

[@samfish2550]

Hmm. Not sure what to make of that but it IS notable. I already hold that whatever they are, worm faces were infected by something deathblight related, this may show them trying to spread their blight. Tbh my biggest wonder now is how intelligent they still are, how much free will, are the worms controlling them, making them spread more of the blight or are they maybe doing it as a offering to Godwyn's corpse in hopes for deliverance from the disease that plagues them after the golden order threw them to the wolves, isolating the valley and abandoning them inside to rot.

[@BurgermeisterMeisterBurgrr]

​@azu803 I saw that as well. If you follow them undetected you can watch.

[@Luckeux]

​@@BurgermeisterMeisterBurgrr what do you guys mean by having a date? do they just stand by each other? do they interact?

[@BurgermeisterMeisterBurgrr]

@Luckeux Haha, no, it was merely a joke.

[@realkingofantarctica]

The most interesting thing about Wormfaces is their name. Silly at first glance, until you realise that the colloquialism is intentional. They're not a species like the Albinaurics or Misbegotten, nor a known entity in the Lands Between like the Crucible Knights. It's almost like they're folktales - terrifying, accursed monsters that are named in such a way so that you know to run away as fast as possible whenever you encounter something with worms for a face...

[@hhm4480]

WHY ARE YOU EVERYWHERE

[@aztecserpent5525]

Ever since I stumbled on the boss in that forest on Altus I’ve been fascinated and disgusted by the wormfaces. I remember reading somewhere that there was a theory regarding them being some mutated form of forest spirits or forest-dwellers, corrupted by the forest’s location directly above Godwyn’s body. Dunno if that was based in anything or how it could fit in to Farum Azula but that’s what I recall

[@trustmeits610pm2]

I believe that theory is that they are like... upside down trees. With the 'roots' being the worms and the 'limbs' being actual humanoid limbs.

[@MasoTrumoi]

So if we take Zullie's thoughts and match them with the Woodfolk theory, it may be that the Wormfaces were once a species of people who lived in the deep forests, and possibly were kind of druidic or faerie like. The people of Altus knew of them and presumably lived in relative harmony, and they may predate humans and the Golden Order like the Beastmen. Then the deathblight came and as it was caused by Godwyn's death and the myriad of horrific events leading to the shattering, the Woodfolk were left behind to slowly succumb to the Deathblight. Maybe no one talks about them because no one noticed they went through this at all, and they were already a footnote in the history of the Lands Between.

[@fourdayz1414]

I think it was the guardians spirits (the flower guys that guard the minor erd trees and sit on the vines on the way to golden shade godfrey) that people think mutated into wormfaces after coming into contact with deathblight I would believe it myself if it weren’t for the fact that it would be very easy to replace the sticks they have with guardian spears if that’s the connection devs wanted us to make

[@nightscout9979]

@@fourdayz1414 I think the Guardians are too wooden to become the wormfaces. All of the Guardians seem to at least have wooden feet, but the wormfaces are made of flesh. Also, with the way the plants are growing in the Guardians, the loss of those plants would result in massive, deep holes in their bodies that no being in the Lands Between has an equivalent of.

[@Invader_Hex]

Yeah I love the wormfaces, they are so disturbing and fascinating.

[@dialectiks]

I like to imagine the FromSoft devs watching videos of yours and Vaati and thinking "aah yeah that might be why we did that"

[@RootVegetabIe]

Sometimes you don't understand what you meant by a work until it's finished.

[@xnflg3074]

@@RootVegetabIeye, sometimes the interpretations of others actually recontextualize and revitalize intended and/or unintentional meaning in art.

[@xVibra]

One of the first ones I saw was the one crying at the grave in Altus Plateau that has a Miquella's Lily on it. It was really unnerving that something so pitiful and monstrous could retain the ability to be sorrowful and experience misery without outright being aggressive. Especially so in a Fromsoft game. There's also the one's who walk in a circle with eachother, lending more evidence that they may be some kind of worshippers. It also never dawned on me how weird it is for graves to be on the surface considering Erdtree burial being a major thing. Since Erdtree burial is a luxury for those valued most, those who earned it, it makes sense that none of them would be in catacombs. Most of the graves on the surface have bandits, and soldiers reanimating around them, and if Wormfaces also cry at them, then it may be that they were scorned and turned away by grace like the Misbegotten. They are likely in a purgatorial state where the rune of death prevents them from fully dying, much like everyone else, but their deathblight affliction attracts the worms that are feeding on them like they're carrion in perpetuity. They may not even be crying for anyone specific, and solely just wish to die. Considering there is a Miquella's Lily on the grave the one cries at, it may give the idea that they wish to find a place where they can belong like all others that grace supposedly doesn't look fondly on. They're attacked in one location by Leyndell soldiers as well, so they're definitely not wanted around, but I don't really have an explanation for those at Farum Azula. Maybe their affliction of permanent undeath was a punishment. As you can see all over Farum Azula that beasts and dragons alike are buried within the walls, and lends the idea that they were able to fully die and become something more, but those who refuse to die, whether they desire it or even can or not, are never seen within Farum Azula's construction. Since it shows a sort of a gradual evolution to the wormface form in the sculpting, it may have been a deterrent to show what may come. Since Erdtree burial and the odd form of burial that is seen in Farum Azula are quite similar, using your body as a fertilizer, and stitching yourself within the roots of what you owe your life to, this practice may have come about from the same person, or for the same reasoning.

[@erickwoods9811]

Too many words, but I read it and good theory's 😵👍

[@AR-bj5et]

Literally just looked up your last Wormface video this morning after reaching them for the first time. Convenient timing. The most disturbing thing to me about these things is that they look like they’re always crying when they’re idle

[@PotatoPatatoVonSpudsworth]

Right?? And why are some of them dressed so nicely?? Who came along and specially tailored that huge laced robe out of lovely white silk? Who wrapped gold medallions around the ones with the floating city?? Why so much implied reverence for such wretched creatures?

[@inakilukac]

@@PotatoPatatoVonSpudsworth my wild guess is that the clothing hasn't been put on them after they became this, but are rather a remnant from before. It's possible they were, for example, corpses that got infected by deathblight worms, bringing them back to life, but in the most horrible and painful state imaginable. Thus, the ones dressed nicely were important dead people, and the ones naked could be random dead people. Either way I get the feeling that they cry all the time because they're being controlled by the worms to attack and infest others. Similar to those real life worms that infest snails eyes and manipulate them from inside to get eaten by birds and further spread themselves.

[@samfish2550]

I read the Lyndell worm faces as a leper colony of sorts, that the garb was just what few lace blankets were spared or were brought/made before the inner forest was isolated and left to fester. Faram azula I'm less certain on where they got their more ornate garb. Either way I think that falling into and proceeding to explore my way out of the deep forest was one of the two most impactful moments in ER for me. Along with fighting and decimating the weaker ancestral guardian, though that was more to stand out for just feeling..... Wrong in the aftermath. Of the two I'm not sure which was more standout since one was purely defined by my agency in it, while the worm faces just seemed unfortunate victims of circumstances.

[@youngbreadwinner2780]

i thought george rr matrin wrote this game this is some bullshit 😒 why is lore so hidden

[@Rad_Akali]

​@@youngbreadwinner2780He pretty much just wrote the basic backstory and provided the names and familial relationships of all the major characters like Marika, Godfrey; etc. Miazaki and the fromsoft team did the rest. Also, most people find the lore hunting to be very interesting and fun; it's essentially a huge treasure hunt and a mystery of finding clues that tie together and other nuggets of information that explain this or that. Imagine if all the lore was something you could just find written out with no secrets at all; you just open an in game book or something and it gives you everything - imagine how goddamn boring that would be in comparison; and how much less replayability the game would have. Sure, sometimes there's so little information about a particular thing that it can be a bit frustrating; but that definitely isn't the case with everything. And that leads to the other part of it - the ability to speculate and fill in the blanks yourself, and discuss with other people. There's a lot of reasons this game is so good and will have such staying power over the years!

[@rhymenoceros3303]

These things still give me the hibby jibby's. I remember pretty much just staying crouched the entire time I was in their fog covered woods because their crying/laughing unnerved me tremendously.

[@burneraccounthandle]

never seen anyone spell heebie jeebies like that before

[@SolaScientia]

I visited the merchant at the broken bridge above where the Wormfaces are and I got freaked out majorly by the noises I could hear. It didn't help that this was at night too. It gave me bad Bloodborne vibes and I didn't go down there for a bit. I still honestly haven't really explored that area beyond clearing out the one at the minor Erdtree.

[@kingdomcome3914]

Such is the terrifying side of sentience.

[@lavosdream5809]

Hibber jibbers

[@childofcascadia]

The Wormfaces to me always looked like an uprooted tree trunk with roots (like the worms are the roots, the head is the trunk, bent, and the body would be the actual tree) I always imagined they were bits of erdtree and the corpses buried within the erdtree, corrupted and sent out by Godwyn to spread his influence. Maybe eventually they would "plant" themselves and turn into a deathblight minor Erdtree

[@DakkaBert]

Their multi-jointed necks also resemble a finger, so maybe they were literal finger servants

[@GrahamChapman]

Coincidentally, the Wormfaces' name in the files is "Deracine", which means "uprooted" (both in the sense of a tree having been pulled up along with its roots, and in the sense of a person having been displaced from their native home).

[@MuraCasardis]

Back here after the DLC trailer, seems your analysis was right concerning the murals. We see a pre-worm-infestation one in the trailer.

[@xenoboy1213]

I think the fact that the Wormfaces in Farum Azula are adorned with yellow cloth while the ones in Altus are not indicates they are native to Farum Azula. Given their humanoid forms, could they have once been the humans depicted in the reliefs in Farum Azula that have since become infected by deathroot?

[@chipstick3856]

Honestly, I’d take any “mural lore” with a very tiny grain of salt after the reddit Haligtree incident

[@xenoboy1213]

@@chipstick3856 I agree when it comes to abstract patterns and ornamentation but Fromsoft is known for being deliberate in tying in level design with lore. To me, putting statues of humans in a flying city known only to be inhabited by beasts and dragons seems like an intentional decision.

[@jstar3382]

​@@xenoboy1213sure, but this is a mural with vaguely shaped creatures, not statues

[@xenoboy1213]

@@jstar3382 I'm talking about the statues of human monarchs in the Farum Azula architecture

[@soulghoul3234]

​@@chipstick3856 What is a reddit haligtree incident? I left Elden Ring subreddit, it was too unbearable.

[@ZeroTooL88]

The slugs with worms for eye stalks resembles a real parasite that infects snails

[@GODZILLAmonsoon]

y'know. mabye we didn't need to know more about the wormfaces. maybe it would have been nice to ever sleep again.

[@AbystomaMexicanium]

poor Rogier really became the posterboy for showcasing the effect of deathblight lol

[@Robthetank001]

I'll never forget my first time passing the misty woods in Altus Plateau. You always hear these things long before you see them.

[@PierceArner]

I think it's interesting how the slugs are some of the most overt examples of parasitism in *_Elden Ring_* but even the fact that Runes glow in the eyes of those granted power to see the Guidance of Grace, and the Two Fingers' undulating movements also resemble those parasitically infected eyestalks shows it is a deeply rooted design theme that is a complex commentary on the relationship between the power held by a ruler over the governed - and whether that relationship is a parasitic or mutualistic type of symbiosis.

[@yeffery]

Nah I think it's just a cool enemy design. Nothing more

[@lmack3024]

​@@yefferyMy friend if you want to just take Elden Ring/Soulsborne design choices at face value and not read into them, you are on the wrong video.

[@amoose3582]

​@@yefferywhare you here then.

[@drlemon7729]

​@@yefferytf are you doing here then? Some of us actually want to engage with our art

[@elleofmusic]

Exactly my thought, too! It's certainly interesting how it's said with Heroes' Runes that they were "abundantly blessed by the Erdtree, who upon earning their honor simply died." And when you line up all of the runes from smallest to largest as animation frames and then loop it, it looks like a frontal view of the same pulsing that you see with the snail parasites...

[@phoenix05892]

I think the reason why there's so little mention of them is because they were born from Godwyn's deathblight. If they existed before Godwyn's death or were created in Farum Azula, it feels like there should've been some mention of them in some text at least. But the absence of any mention makes me think they're relatively new in the world.

[@Omicron9999]

I wonder if we might be reading it backwards and the deathblight didn't 'spread' to Farum Azula - but was already there to begin with. Farum Azula is WAAAY older than the Golden Order and Godwyn himself. And although the explanation that it spread from Maliketh after he consumed the deathroot sounds plausible, it seems that deathblight is explicitly tied to Godwyn's mutated corpse under the Erdtree spreading his influence through its roots. I don't see how that can happen if Farum Azula predates Godwyn by a really long time and is itself physically separated from the rest of the Lands Between. Reading it the other way, deathblight may have ORIGINATED in Farum Azula, which necessitated severing it completely from the rest of the world and having it float in the sky in order to contain the deathblight there. But, chunks of Farum Azula are falling off all over the place over time and littering the landscape. If the Wormfaces do indeed originate in Farum Azula, their being in the Lands Between seems to have a simple explanation - they fell off with some of the pieces and ended up down there. Perhaps in some sort of larval form that was able to survive the fall, or maybe it was just magic, who knows? If the deathblight did indeed start in Farum Azula, or maybe it even happened several times BEFORE and Farum Azula is just the only place from an earlier iteration of the Lands Between that survived, it might shed some light on what caused the Ancient Dragon civilisation to collapse, and Placidusax's God to abandon him. Maliketh's presence there would also seem to suggest that he himself predates the founding of the Golden Order - perhaps he's even as old as the Lands Between themseves? As for how it started, who knows, but whatever caused it was undoubtedly so catastrophic as to cause the collapse of an entire civilisation. Maybe the rest of the Lands Between are themselves heading for such a fate as Godwyn's influence continues to spread through the Erdtree's roots?

[@TrollingJar]

I think the simplest explanation would be that Deathblight is the actually just a form of the Rune of Death afflicting the environment. It would originate from Farum Azula because that's where the Rune of Death was sealed. It spread from Farum Azula via Ranni and the Black Knife weapons. Godwyn is now the source on the ground because his soul was killed with the Black Knife and his zombie mermaid body now houses some remnants of the Rune's power. The reason Maliketh as Gurranq has us collect Deathroot for him to eat is so he can reclaim the rest of the Rune of Death. After we give him all the Deathroot in-game he realizes it's futile because too much of it has spread throughout the Lands Between and then he dips back to Farum Azula.

[@Eddaeken]

The creatures depicted on the murals in Maliketh's arena look almost like it is a creature undergoing a metamorphosis of sorts - the 'hands' of the creature whose head is wrapped in cloth almost look like fins, and the other two creatures shown beside the 'wormface' on the mural look like they are taking on the appearance of an eel or sea-worm at difference stages of change. Most notably the tail of one eel looks like it splits further and then a 'frill' comes out at the end. Godwin's corpse seems to be undergoing a form of change into a more fish-like creature.. perhaps the wormfaces of Farum Azula were ritually prepared bodies (hence the wrappings on their bodies), awaiting the next stage after their passing. Between the state of Godwin's corpse, the association of the Mariners and death, the crabs with Godwin's "eyes" (possibly a coincidence and an environmental effect on the crabs as opposed to being sea creatures.. ), it seems that Death is somehow linked with the sea in some capacity. Edit: Also an additional thought - is there some hidden connection or common trait between Godwin and the inhabitants of Farum Azula that would lead to this sort of metamorphosis after death?

[@IdToaster]

Aside from the Rune of Death (carried by Maliketh, used to kill Godwyn), both Godwyn and Farum Azula's residents are both linked to ancient dragons; Godwyn befriended Fortissax, and the ancient dragons are the rulers of Farum Azula. The scales of ancient dragons are capable of twisting time - and FA hosts a storm beyond time. I don't know if that's enough to cause all of this, but it's there.

[@Kryptnyt]

All the Empyreans had a beastman assigned to them by the fingers, right? But we don't know anything about Godwyn's.

[@misterio3678]

It's weird though because it's implied that Farum Azula is way older than Godwyn and the golden order right? Does this mean that Deathblight was already a thing before Godwyn died? Or is this some "Time is Convoluted" schpiel? Taking into consideration the time altering storm at the center of the city...

[@fourdayz1414]

⁠@@Kryptnyt only ranni, Miquella and Melania are empyreans

[@fourdayz1414]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@misterio3678i always assumed that no one knew what deathblight was until it started showing up (otherwise i think they’d take precautions against godwyn’s mutations rather than burying his corpse under the erdtree) I’d guess it some time bending thing or deathblight might be something that can spread through the air? A bit scary to think about I feel like if we can figure out how wormfaces got there (assuming they aren’t “born” there) we can guess at deathblight

[@tulnekaya1054]

I kind of get a burial shroud vibe from the clothed ones in Altus, but the medallion-wrapped ones in Farum Azula very much bring to mind certain embalming practices.

[@Khotetsu]

This plus their high resistance to holy damage and the pockmarks on their bodies make me think that they were sanctified corpses that were buried and later eaten by the worms that hang off of their faces and were somehow resurrected. Possibly a consequence of Ranni breaking off a piece of the Rune of Death or something.

[@salustianoberrios405]

Your writing is exceptional. Crisp and concise.

[@nightscout9979]

There's another possible connection between the wormfaces and Farum Azula: The murals of the Twinbird present throughout the city. The Twinbird is said to be the mother of the Deathbirds, and the Deathbirds can innately inflict Death Blight with their screams. Furthermore, several Deathbirds in the Lands Between are found near fallen ruins of Farum Azula, such as in northern Limgrave, the Weeping Peninsula, and southern Liurnia.

[@Brinkalski]

I think they're erdtree guardians, horrifically enlargened by deathblight. It makes sense to me considering how the Erdtree guardians wear the same yellow, are surrounding the wormface minor Erdtree along with the wormfaces, and how they are slowly turning into trees. The last part makes more sense when you learn that the Japanese word for the wormfaces translates to "uprooted"

[@AllenAlchemyTTV]

I'll never be okay with their ambient whispering, it's so unsettling. I dread venturing into that part of Altus even after hundreds of hours.

[@atomskpk6992]

I wonder if Farum Azula used to be in the hole where that shrouded forest is now. The broken bridges on either side of the forest could have been entrances to the city instead of one long bridge across, or I guess could have been built after as a way to cross the gap.

[@h0fmeister420]

its actually most likely to be where the deeproot depths used to be before it sunk underground. Theres a lore video about the divine towers explaining some kind of event in wich the three lost citys were 'banished' underground

[@atomskpk6992]

@@h0fmeister420 I'll have to look that video up, I think I have seen it actually. But, the physical location of Deeproot Depths is almost directly underneath the Erdtree, while that hole is outside of the outer wall of Leyndell. Of course, there could be something in that video that clears that up, so I'll go watch it.

[@zadkal8873]

No. Farum Azula was originally where Gurranq's Beast Sanctuary is (it is not a coincidence if it is dedicated to beasts, if we find the Cinquedea there and if behind the Sanctuary, there are Traces of collapses and an enormous "empty" area. Furthermore, the bridge where we fight the dragon is literally called the "Great bridge of Farum", thus demonstrating that, originally, the city is located there.

[@h0fmeister420]

@atomskpk6992 true, i just realized that the deeproot depths is probably the area in leyndell where there is now only water

[@crestfallenhussar895]

The details in this game are insane. I just confronted those slugs the other night and I never would have noticed they had worms in place of their antenna.

[@kosm999]

Since I've seen a few people ask - The background music in these videos is from King's Field IV (or King's Field: The Ancient City in Western releases).

[@IDECIDETHETRUTH]

Another banger Zullie. We appreciate you.

[@leadfaun]

You ain’t even done watching mate.

[@IDECIDETHETRUTH]

@@leadfaunCan you name one video by Zullie that isn’t a banger?

[@Brother_O4TS]

2:15 Well, based on the Shadow of the Erdtree trailer, we know now that there are other worm-like creatures. They could've been a less evolved form of the Wormfaces, as they seem to have a similar grab attack

[@pontuslundqvist5942]

The winged serpents on the murals also look exactly like Messmer's "snakes"

[@DeadSparkMan]

These things terrified me on my first run. I was hearing this horrible sound in Altus, and I figured out it was their breathing and distorted laughing. I spent so much time in Altus avoiding them because they were just THAT creepy.

[@michaelmannix1604]

I figure they were beings uprooted ("deracinated") by the Rune of Death as it coursed the Greattree root network. As for their appearance in Farum Azula, as well as "Godwyn's" Deathroot, it seems more likely to me that since the Rune of Death was isolated in Farum Azula long ago upon the conception of the Golden Order, its influence spawned Those Who Live in Death well before Godwyn's assassination, and perhaps even his birth. I doubt those masses are necessarily "Godwyn's" eyes, but whatever took over his living corpse on the Night of the Black Knives. His body is simply a vehicle for its germination. I imagine Maliketh only arrived in Caelid after the Rune of Death was stolen, blighting the Lands Between with Deathroot.

[@PotatoPatatoVonSpudsworth]

The weirdest thing about the Wormfaces to me is their clothing. The females (big ones) wear white laced robes, while the ones in Farum Azula wear golden wrappings and medallions. It's bizarrely reverent clothing for such wretched creatures. And a big detail is that the clothing is WELL MAINTAINED. Look how filthy and frayed the wandering nobles are by comparison. The Wormface's clothing feels freshly washed comparison, and I can't envision the Wormfaces fashioning or maintaining that garb themselves. I think it's more likely someone else decorated them, likely out of respect for Godwyn.

[@YGNX]

I always thought they had some possible link to Hastur, The King in Yellow, when it comes to design choice based on their yellow cloaks and appearance, as well as given insanity is represented by an orange-ish yellow, and Hastur, the King in Yellow, is known for causing mass insanity wherever he goes, as he is a god from the lore of Lovecraft.

[@errousmasterofchaos69]

thats more the frenzied flame route and the madness debuff

[@tythus654]

@@errousmasterofchaos69 Not necessarily if you consider Hawkshaw's colour theory (whereby colours are associated with certain ideas and aspects, some more obvious than others.)

[@Chaffee738]

One deviation I've noticed regarding Elden Ring from previous FromSoft games is that a lot of creatures that look like they've gone through horrifying transformations into monstrosities, in fact, have not. A lot of the times, either that's how they naturally look (e.g. demihumans, beastmen, trolls) or the power that affected their influences are considered very much natural and even sacred in older cultures (e.g. ancestral spirits, Crucible Knights, possibly omens and even Godwyn, yes there are theories that Godwyn's transformation is due to the Crucible). And the thing they have in common is that most of the time their misery and suffering has nothing to do with their biological state but being rejected, ostracized and tormented by the Golden Order for being different. Previous FromSoft games subtly gave the horror "Oh my god, this monster remembers being human", to quote a different comment on this channel. In the case of Elden Ring, it makes you think "Monster? Who decides that this creature is a monster and not a human?" So, I believe the Wormface is another case of them looking horrifying but that just being their natural looks. Deathblight has no transformative properties after all. Just like how we all assume that the Caelid crows and dogs were mutated by whatever happened at Caelid, but Scarlet Rot has no ability to mutate creatures and it's much more likely that those animals' appearance has to do with dragons.

[@zincgoblin7538]

I really hope you like doing this sort of stuff because the amount of work you got to go through to figure out any of this is nothing short of a job.

[@soarel325]

Tangential, but the Greater Will reference being removed from the Cinquedea item description strikes me as odd. Most of the item descriptions that got changed in the day 1 patch either added more details or removed elements that were out of line with the final version of the game (most infamously, the Turtle Neck Meat implying that natural reproduction no longer exists, which is contradicted by both Boc’s questline and dialogue from Melina). Given that the Farum Azula civilization is still associated with the Greater Will, Order, and Gold in the final game (Placidusax being Elden Lord and all that) it seems very puzzling to remove the reference.

[@PinkSheepification]

Ive always thought that the statues in and around Nokron looked strangely similar to the Wormfaces. So Ive looksely been playing with the idea that they are related to the ancient civilization that built the Grand Cloister. I didnt know about the Farum Azula murals tho, so I will prolly have to rethink that lol

[@BluTacApostle]

Haven't seen anyone bring it up, but the shape language of the wormfaces reminds me most of Rosus in game. Rosus is referred to as "the guide and gatekeeper for those returning to the roots", So another missing psychopomp figure in the lands between. The name Rosus also has a latin root which means "to gnaw, or eat away" and we know how much Fromsoft likes their naming conventions. With all the worm faces being found in wooded areas, the proximity to the Woodfolk ruins, the shape of Rosus, his general woody appearance, and the connection to death: the implication seems to be that The Woodfolk were kin of Rosus and preformed duties relating to Erdtree burial at the roots that probably involved consumption of some kind. If they were closest of the golden order to the roots and probably subsisted on them in some way, they would have gotten infected by deathroot first. As the deathroot took them over their purpose would have been corrupted and inverted, no longer guiding people to the roots, they would be compelled to guide the roots toward people. Their lives and purpose have been uprooted by Godwyns infection and now they literally UProot people with deathblight. I think the population of Wormfaces in Farum Azula is supposed to give us a sense of how old Erdtree burial practice is, and to reinforce the recurring idea that it existed alongside other burial practices at one time.

[@Sunsinger3897]

I feel like the worms are burrowing out of their faces, and not into it, since they cough up little one's so they're already infested... and these mature ones are bursting out or even acting as sensory organs for them.

[@Triggermangravy]

The dlc has giant leech enemies. I think they are pre-worm wormfaces

[@Wimbleknob]

Last time I was this early, Miyazaki trapped me in the Shaded Woods to fight fake invaders

[@GrahamChapman]

Me, encountering a Wormface: Ahh, what a terrible day to have eyes.

[@TheHonoredMadman]

Holy shit i never noticed those worm face carvings in the walls. Thats fucking amazing

[@Krasgov]

Hey Zullie I have a weird question about Maliketh’s AI and overall animations. I could be wrong (my memory is terrible) but he seems to be the only enemy that has unique interactions with wall like surfaces so he can do his aerial / perch moves. Like when playing on randomisers, if you fight him in certain arenas he will make an attempt to mount the walls to do those moves (like the tree in Loretta’s Haligtree arena). So I just wondered how it worked and if FROM ever attempted to do something like that before.

[@GameDevYal]

Trolls will stagger and get momentarily dizzy if they run into a wall or low ceiling while doing certain moves where they're hunched over forwards (most noticeable in the run-up to phantom Loretta), so it's not ONLY Mailketh that's got special wall interactions.

[@Krasgov]

That's a good point. I completley forgot about those interactions cause I haven't fought a Troll in ages haha@@GameDevYal

[@fredo6913]

To me, they look like giant, severed fingers that sprouted limbs and gained sentience. The worms eating away at the infected wound.

[@00WhiteBlade]

After the Haligtree asset reddit fiasco I feel like we can't trust textures anymore

[@Spookybluelights]

They're so sad to look at until they try to kill you and then it's panic inducing.

[@chulovesyou217]

Before they were wormfaces, they were just...faces

[@DolusVulpes]

Its morbidly fascinating to realize just how much of Elden Ring's lore revolves around eyes and parasites, to the point that parts of the lore almost feel like something out of Bloodborne

[@Halberddent]

Even if the relief carvings are a generic asset it's possible that an environment designer chose them with some intent in mind. It's more interesting to think that way, at least.

[@MOKIEMOKO]

I like worms

[@SignumInterriti]

There is a real life parasitic worm that replaces the tounges of fish, called Fish Lice. Might have been an inspiration.

[@abaddon130]

When you mentioned the slug carrying parasites in their antennae it instantly reminded me of Metal Gear Solid 5, when your soldiers get infected with a parasite that acts the same way in their brains, with the urge to get out and spread infection (in the game the parasite is lodged in the throat and lungs, and spread by talking a specific language, but they could spread via consumption too, example: a bird eating the deceased infected soldier), the game also mentions the real life occurrence of snails getting infected with the parasite in their antennae, it bloats them and makes them look like worms so birds will eat them and the parasite can then breed when ate

[@erikbowers0776]

The fact they aren't mentioned makes them even more unsettling. They feel like an enemy I'd expect NPCs or items to talk about

[@Capn_Cantankerous]

"worth consideration even if it ultimately leads nowhere." So accurately describes the entirety of Fromsoft lore hunting 🤣

[@hrpang]

What's so odd to me is that they are always wrapped in cloth. The Farum Azula ones are wrapped in golden yellow cloth with emblems adorning them. I can't help but think about the possibility that wormfaces are actually heralds or emissaries for Death, considering how Godwyn himself is very fish like and worms are common fish bait. Even their pose is like a fishing pole bent over the water.

[@SleepyMatt-zzz]

I'm pretty sure that relief is a dog. The tail is curled from its rear end, around its leg, and towards its head. Also looks like it has a floppy ear.

[@xardasvb]

This is literally just a texture of a dog, I cannot believe no one here is talking about that.

[@franklynsmith6968]

Curiously, the statues of the women are in sadness and prayer. As are the wormfaces. Take away the worms, and they seem like sad people in prayer. Perhaps they were once people who prayed to the wrong god. Or they did something egregious, prayed for forgiveness, and the prayer was (horrifically) answered.

[@TonkarzOfSolSystem]

The worm slugs resemble the real life flatworm afflicted amber snails. The worms, scientific name "Leucochloridium paradoxum", are ingested by the snails. Whereupon they hatch and eat the snail's eyes from the inside, replacing the eyestalk contents with their own flat worm bodies. Through means that are poorly understood, the worms cause the snails to climb to high and exposed places where the snail's flatworm infected eyestalks resemble caterpillars. In this exposed position, birds easy eat the snail and the parasitic worms, which then infect the bird (laying eggs into it's droppings). So the worms must be parasites, right?

[@mfd8346]

Surprisingly no wormfaces in the lost city where Godwyn is. Lots of ants and masuleum knights tho

[@greasemonk4576]

When you get mange and worms, you get kicked out the pack. It's a dog-eat-dog world.

[@BlankPicketSign]

Maybe the strange coins and cloth on their bodies might hold some clues...

[@Clockwonk]

The elongated heads wrapped in yellow cloth reminds me of xanthous kind Jeremiah

[@zerow5677]

Murals on wall look to have fish tails like godwyn too

[@chrisofthehoovers4055]

Love these videos, it's work like this that helps to drive the lore community.

[@kerianhalcyon2769]

It's good you mentioned that there's a chance that the textures on the wall you brought up were likely generic assets. I still remember that one Reddit post comparing a wall texture to the game's lore only for someone to data-mine it and identify it as part of a list of textures used in an asset library. Here's hoping the DLC might give us an inkling as to what the Wormfaces really are.

[@Zulmoka]

Those murals also look like aquatic creatures, kinda eel like, and the death theme also have Godwyn’s corpse turning into fish boy.

[@thePalindromeLady]

Two videos in as many days? Oh, you're too good to us. Thank you for all the work you do!

[@mojohand74]

I get so excited when I see one of your posts!

[@Writh811]

Maybe it is just my brain trying to find similarities in desperate hope for answers but there is some interesting comparisons one could make between a Wormface, if you remove the worms, and the Elden Beast, if you remove the wings and tail. Of course this is just going off this video and memory so I could be wrong (the long neck and their arm to leg ratio give me this vibe). But if you fatten up the body of a wormface, put some wings and a shark tale on them and pull out the worms to get their heads closer to the mural... I don't think they are that far off. What does it mean if I'm right, I don't know.

[@shnobrin7928]

I had to pause at 2:30 to read the text, and for the first time I noticed that these wormfaces actually have textures for ears. It's partially covered by the long piece of clothe running all the way down, but it makes me think these are probably very close to humans in origin.

[@QuipsterIX]

The only reason a mimic tear would change into a worm face is to decieve somebody or something, but who or what?

[@ZullietheWitch]

The mimic tears tend to take unassuming, weaker forms to blend in, and then switch to stronger forms when threatened. Presumably this one saw a Wormface on its way to Mt. Gelmir and stashed that away as a shape that would be useful for combat.

[@eldenringpvpenthusiast1710]

And so, she lived in fear... of the dark, of the things that gnawed at her flesh. the DLC will be so good. The dark is coming

[@eldenringpvpenthusiast1710]

every swamp locust dialogue can be used for insight on certain characters. like Ranni with " One, poor girl, slew her own kin. But even so, was embraced, enveloped by the abyss. Twas a comfort neither moon nor sunless sky afforded her before" I could be wrong, but it sounds more like she became an empyrian on top of that tower, and ridding your flesh is part of the process.... every other empyrian rids their flesh in some way. Pretty sure dying fighting is what makes you a lord or champion too. I feel like the erdtree is tricking people into getting eaten by it, like a big ol' miranda blossom.

[@astrealbrizbee9815]

For the Mimic thing, I am curious why and where it got that form and then traveled to where it ended up. As for Farum Azula having deathblight, I always assumed it was excreted out from Guranc after we fed him the roots, then it sorta spread into the city that way.

[@arnolde724]

AYOOOOO, im soo glad your finally getting to these guys, I remember always thinking / feeling like the wormfaces belonged in ds3 over elden ring , thanks for shedding light on that

[@Boamere]

We love eyes on this channel 👁️👁️🧿👁️‍🗨️

[@NarffetWerlz]

With them saying, "Shadow of the Erd Tree is going to be like The Old Hunters," I'm expecting a fair amount of unsavory things that were done to establish the Golden Order.

[@-Bile-]

Ive always thought the term 'uprooted' applies literally to them. This is what happens if you remove a body from the erdtree while it is undergoing the process of erdtree burial. This is the horrible truth of what the erdtree does to those who receive that 'honor'.

[@jstar3382]

Wormfaces are probably the worst enemy lore wise, because we have nothing. They're connected to godwyn... somehow. They appear around deathroot and inflict deathblight. They hold sticks for some reason? Even fingercreepers have an explanation for them. They're probably a mutated hand, cut off from Rykard. But Wormfaces? Nothing. No item description, no dialogue, nothing. Just speculation on limited visible details

[@Oogba]

Really diggin these lore bits! Also the soundtracks you use for these videos fit perfectly. 10/10

[@OnyxDeity]

If we lean in on that mural for explanations, it seems very much that wormfaces go from being elongated tuboid creatures to being humanoid. So you could infer that something takes them from being a serpentine creature - possibly a relative of dragons - to this humanoid state. "Evolving with the beasts" indeed.

[@bruhincorporated9876]

Berry loved to play in the snow. But so did the meatworm.

[@viserproductions1]

Elden ring is a game in love with duality, and the wormfaces are no exception. The only two places we see them are the altus plateau and in farum azula. However, i think that malikeths presence is only a minor factor in their appearance in farum azula. On the altus plateau, it makes sense, it's the locus of godwyns presence in the lands between, and where the corruption of deathblight is strongest. In farum azula, however, this is a different story. Yes there is deathblight in farum azula, but it's progressed to a stage almost as badly as in altus, despite it not being that bad in the areas between, and with farum azula being in the sky, disconnected from godwyns body and the deathroot he brings. In addition, the wormfaces of farum azula are decorated in the same golden manner as many of the dead beastmen. Thus,i think that the wormfaces of farum azula are not only not connected to Godwyn, but actually predate his death. The wormfaces of altus are cloaked in robes, hiding in a foggy forest, far away from where anyone can see them, much like how godwyn is hidden deep below altus. In much the same way that death is reviled in the lands between, and specifically by the golden order, so too are it's most powerful agents, the wormfaces, hidden away. But in farum azula, not only are they out in plain sight, if a bit off the beaten path, they seem almost celebrated, draped in fine cloth and golden pendants. And why not, after all, death seems celebrated here. Where the lands between bury their dead and hope they quietly return to the Great tree to be born again, the beastmen lay their dead out for all to see, first placing them on stone tables, again draped in gold, and then finally worked into the actual masonry of the structure. Even the floating island itself is built on stone with the corpses of dragons embedded within. It's not just a holy site, but a mausoleum, and one completely different from any in the lands of the golden order, which are all crypts deep below ground, far from the sky, as of ashamed of it, whereas in farum azula, it's clearly beloved and celebrated out in the open.

[@michaelgibson3479]

The worms are probably creatures on their own and infected these things becoming one with them like a messed up aquatic parasite. I'm also convinced the face we see on godwyns corpse isn't his face but that of the clam shell around it, those shells open up lol. Pretty sure godwyns lineage is even cursed which is why grafting started to keep that undeath at bay with the one under stormviel a descendant of godwyn.

[@HitchcockJohn]

I wonder if there’s someone at FronSoftware just looking at all these fan theories and taking notes.

[@Dyneamaeus]

I choose to believe they are somehow associated with Godwyn from before his death. His friendship with dragons could explain their presence in the Farum. As for Altus, considering the similar size of the two locations, (one a bunch of floating rocks, the other a _hole)_ it seems possible that it was the original location of Farum Azula before Marika banished it along with Maliketh in response to her son's half-death..

[@oui7171]

Would you still love me if I was a wormface?

[@MaximillionPegasusJ.Crawford]

I would.

[@cblrtopas]

Another banger video Zullie, you've really become an institution when it comes to FromSoftware game lore.

[@metuos.3651]

I feel duty-bound to once again mention that they drop Sacrificial Twigs on death, implying a connection to Erdtree burials and perhaps being the end result of what happens to something that defied Destined Death.

[@niall_sanderson]

The slugs having worms in their eyestalks is something that slugs can be afflicted with in real life. It’s pretty gross

[@chrisspeight1473]

That Mimic Tear had to have seen a Wormface before in order to mimic it, I wonder how that happened and how it ended up on Mt. Gelmir...

[@mattb6616]

the script uses an older word for eclipse in japanese (蝕み rather than 食) that means to be worm-eaten; to be eaten by worms to affect adversely; to spoil; to ruin; to undermine; to gnaw at (one's heart, body, etc.); to eat into; to destroy

[@Hollowolfjas4014]

The way you could hear them from above the valley forest in Altus, and could find some of the Altus soldiers peering over the edge towards the sound. It's damn creepy the way they just wander and if you're down there you can never really be sure one isn't going to come your way while you had your map or inventory open. They're such a presence in that area, their sound always reminding us Godwyn is there.

[@Darth1Marik]

Since we aren't given an actual timeline of events or when events occurred we can only assume so much. The connection between Farum Azula and Stormveil Castle is tied by Placidusax as he was very likely the ruler of the castle during his time of "Elden Lord" and his unidentified patron god. It was said that they were driven out and possibly by Godwyn. They could have fled to the location of Farum Azula before it was lifted into the sky and during that time is when the Shattering possibly occurred. With Godwyn's status as the Prince of Death and spreading to the lands Farum Azula might have been afflicted and Placidusax saw the incoming threat and rose Farm Azula to the skies to avoid it but likely Godwyn's influence had likely taken root. Deathroot probably already bore its way into the ground that Farum Azula was sitting on and Placidusax probably didn't see it. I'd like to point out that this is purely 100% speculation and theory on my part and have no actual solid evidence other than in game text/lore and everything we know about Farum Azula, Godwyn and Deathblight/Deathroot. However given that we see Wormfaces at Farum Azula and somewhere I forgot where there is a deathroot budding out of the ground it seems very plausible that this is what happened.

[@Neo2266.]

If they are beastmen, how did they end up in Altus

[@hitlord]

If there's one thing we know by now from the Souls games, it's that FS rarely if ever leaves "coincidences" just lying around. I'd say the murals and the Wormfaces are decidedly connected at this point. Like some other guy pointed out in here, the slugs having the eye parasites (from real life) that make them easier targets and suicidal is also a very real probability. We do find the slugs alongside the Wormfaces in Altus, and the area is densily forested. The only enemy lacking from the equation are birds (in the forest in Altus). Odds are, if we stretch it just a bit at this point, the original Wormfaces feed on the slugs. We find Warhawks in Farum, but don't find the slugs. But the Wormfaces are in an area both lore friendly to Deathblight (a graveyard, also with tall trees) and the (lacking) Slugs. (We mostly find them [slugs] in areas related to death; abandoned temples, swamps, graveyards.) Warhawks carry the slugs, original Wormfaces feed on them, we get what we have. Which would explain why the Wormfaces in Altus are in that particular area, which is also infested with the slugs (their original food source; as for why there's none in Farum anymore, the Wormfaces ate them all).

[@thegrimlockx8309]

Here after shadow of the erdtree, the creatures in the murals are not wormfaces, they look exactly like those finger lamprey enemies you encounter on the finger ruins of the dlc

[@jaredcrabb]

I was looking for this. Thats what I thought.

[@johnduquette7023]

I don't think we should ignore the Mimic Tear. How did a Mimic Tear get the form of the worm face in the first place? There's a story in that one, the connection must be deliberate.