Elden Ring Lore: Godrick the Grafted & Godfrey The First Elden Lord Explained

[@eurogamer]

Watch the rest of my Elden Ring lore videos here! kzbin.info/aero/PLTZXfIDHhP2sjC0_vLane87dOyH8Ts2Y6

[@RayMan1002]

I love the fact that when you meet Godfrey in person, you see grace guiding him to you. Idk how that works but I’m pretty sure that’s what’s in the cutscene.

[@wraithryder]

not sure why you want ppl to despise Godrick, i loved the character both as a tragic figure to be pitied (like Gollum) and also as a boss. The dude never had any natural talent but by Marika's decree: the demi-gods are to make something of themselves or be used as fodder and his bloodline was so diluted that he never had the natural talent, courage or strength/power of his superiors (i think everyone can relate to that at some point in their life) - he was always the underdog but never gave up, grafting was his final desperate attempt for tangible power (and while it was effective, who knows how many tarnished have perished at Stormveil) it wasnt enough to defy the fate of the Chosen Tarnished. He at least loses to the same person who also kills Radahn, Melania, and Godfrey. I love how Morgott calls him Godrick the Golden and not Grafted, choosing to remember him how he was rather than what he was forced to become to survive.

[@fgkh3387]

Godrick's title of golden might be his real title since he is the last of golden lineage and even morgott refers by it to him

[@brimward122]

@@OrbitalShell he does refer to him as godrick the golden in the morgott omen king cutscene

[@PeterDB90]

I always thought that Roderika was calling the Grafted Scion the "spider" rather than Godrick, since of the 2, the Scion LOOKS more like a spider, AND you find the Chrysalid memento in the room right next to the one where the Grafted Scion is, so it all adds up.

[@wraithryder]

I love how Morgott calls him Godrick the Golden and not Grafted, choosing to remember him how he was rather than what he was forced to become to survive.

[@Colin-kh6kp]

He’s the Golden God and he hasn’t even BEGUN to peak.

[@Link-the-dink]

Lengen……dary!!!!!!

[@velvet373]

He is untethered and his rage knows no bounds

[@kazkk2321]

I like the man regardless. His idea of the grotesque is quite a good one. I do t like his narcissism but i understand his conflicted nature. I like this doctor Frankenstein types. I dont like his narcissism and delusion but come on he is quite understandable. Why does humanity have so much contempt for this creative chaos?

[@MadnessInLivingColor]

This series is exactly what I need right now as this game consumes me lol. Thanks Zoe, for the tldr deep dives.

[@chance003]

They said Godfrey being exiled is also part of marika’s plan to destroy greater will

[@NBEEALEX]

I love these videos so much! I love that Zoe's getting to flex her interests too

[@DragonChief157]

You are missing something about Marika and Godfrey, there is much debate about Marika herself, but my theory is that Marika shunned Godfrey and his kin to become tarnished as a desperate wildcard to rebel against the greater will. Marika and Radagon are literally in the same body but two distinct personality, and my guess is radagon is the dedication to the golden order and the greater will made manifest and removed from Marika's psyche, and once removed, Marika is the one that help orchestrated the night of the black death. There are no definite proof but alot of the dialogue hints at Marika's rebellion against the greater will, including hewg who is literally tasked by her to create a weapon that can slay gods.

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

That's actually a common belief for why she shattered the Elden Ring, as an act of defiance against the Greater Will. The Great Will then punished her and Radagon by extension by forcing them back into one body and sealing them under the Erdtree.

[@DragonChief157]

@@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor I don't think radagon and Marika split into 2 body at any point. The statue and the pope both hint that radagon was Marika all along, but we know from the hammer that radagon actively tried to repair elden ring while Marika is destroying it so it proves they have 2 different personalities, radagon is more like an alter ego or duo personality made manifest

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

@@DragonChief157 I'm pretty sure that before the war they split and Radagon was fighting and ended up marrying Rennala. Then he ended up marrying Marika since they were now in two bodies. That's also why Miquella and Melenia were born as twins.

[@DragonChief157]

@@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor there are no concrete evidence that they split, perhaps they did, Radagon was by account of the pope, return to the erdtree himself, to become Marika's consort, due to Godfrey losing his grace, but we know Godfrey losing his grace by design of Marika due to wanting him and his kin to become stronger outside of the lands between. Perhaps after they give birth they got fused together again to be better controlled by greater will.

[@brentgarrison6245]

This. So much of the lore suggests a kind of desperate chess match between Marika and the Greater Will. I believe Marika intended to break the Elden Ring, and kick off the Shattering, all along. And everything along the road was either to put the pieces in place to that end or to appear to be serving the Greater Will's purpose so it wouldn't see her coming. I think she even counts on being imprisoned, along with Radagon, inside the Erdtree where both of them will be off the board. Which is why she creates Melina to act on her behalf in the Lands Between while she is locked away. Think about it. Melina's purpose is to burn the Erdtree. But the Erdtree only needs to be burned because the thorns are blocking your path inside to become Elden Lord. If the Greater Will wants us to remake the Elden Ring and take the throne, as the Two Fingers claim, then why is the path blocked? It's blocked because Marika wills it so. Only one who is willing to burn the tree, to reset the cycle of living and dying, of change and transition, can complete Marika's ultimate purpose and truly end the Golden Order. It basically rules out anybody so loyal to the Greater Will who might view the cardinal sin as beyond the pale.

[@Wheat7588]

Thank you Zoe, this lore is so sad/pitiable/despicable that i feel such a range of emotion whenever these cross my desk. Keep up the great work, looking forwards to seeing more!

[@juxie9229]

Pitiful. The word is pitiful.

[@Wheat7588]

@@juxie9229 it's actually not. The world is deserving of my pity as such, it is pitiable. Either could be used here

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

I made a comment on the last video and I'm making it on this one too just to make sure you see it, but I thought of a potential thing for a lore video you could do. I know there us lore behind at least some of the summons like the Jellyfish and her sister so maybe you could do a video exploring stuff like that. Also, I love your videos and can really tell just how much you love lore and figuring out about the story before, during, and after a game takes place.

[@dracorex426]

I really can't blame Godrick for begging for his life, though.

[@stormp2982]

Ah Godrick the guy who kicked my ass 60 times

[@c.fyffe0]

Lol he was a fun fight I help as many as I can kill him

[@Tiicup]

love that I kinda have the lores waiting for me every weekends. thank you for your hard work!

[@LagunaLeonhart]

Godrick wore a green cloak. Zelda crossover confirmed

[@marhawkman303]

My question to use as the basis of a lore video: Why is it called the "Lands between"? Between What?

[@smilerat8070]

Marika was growing doubtful of the Greater Will, I theorize, which caused the Greater Will to command her to reunite with Radagon. Some bits here and there shows some possible tension between the two.

[@malkcontent]

Am loving these and been recommending them. Solid work. If there’s opportunity it would be really nice to flash up or ‘cite’ some of the places the lores pulled from. Item description and the like. I love knowing what I failed to take in

[@VivaLaDnDLogs]

I'm grateful to Godrick for his commitment to actions that others will regard him with contempt for. Sometimes a bad guy doesn't need redemption. Sometimes they just gotta go.

[@brentgarrison6245]

On the subject of Godfrey becoming Tarnished, Zoey is right that it seems like Marika did Godfrey and the others dirty. But, looked at from another perspective, it's a move in a chess game between Marika and the Greater Will that is playing out throughout the lore and into the game's events. Marika appears to value the cycle of life, birth and living and then death. Growth, and change, and variability. The Greater Will looks to establish an eternal order, a kind of static existence. Now, that existence may be awesome, we can debate whether it's a good thing or not. But Marika appears to working against this, conspiring to make everything mortal and to allow the age to shift yet again. And the Tarnished are her greatest warriors in this endeavor. She even tells them (in dialogue delivered through Melina though supposedly in Marika's own words), that once they die she will return what she has taken (grace) and they will return to the Lands Between to battle for the Elden Throne. She wants them to bring conflict, and with it, transformation. So, in a weird way, she's actually entrusting Godfrey and the other Tarnished with her greatest purpose. Their suffering, their hounding from the Lands Between, and their eventual promised death in the lands beyond the fog are meant to harden them into agents who will risk everything for the promise of enacting the kind of world they envision. Though the player Tarnished obviously ends up being the essential cog in that particular wheel.

[@wwklnd]

Loving these videos! I'd personally be really happy to see a video about the Albinaurics. :)

[@henryfraser6781]

Godfrey, Godrick, godwyn, godefroy, goddamn

[@gilvanvieira1815]

I doubt that Marika banished Godfrey,or at least it isn't that simple,in her own words she says that one day they will return and become Elden Lord,Marika herself helps the tarnished with the stakes of Marika.

[@devinleff8035]

Good video! But was the giants flame kept on mount gelmir or the mountaintop of the giants?

[@mukulsaini3970]

Loving these!!

[@WilCornish]

There's something slightly worrying about how Elden Ring has a Night of the Knives, and then also a bunch of stuff about pure/impure bloodlines and selective breeding too?

[@eurogamer]

Just wait till you hear about how they treat Omens, it's messed up.

[@rafsandomierz5313]

Oh boy check out the Dark souls 3 it's more messed up than Elden ring's lore.

[@pastorofmuppets4552]

You’re probably the first person I’ve seen bring up that connection.

[@SerClaad]

These videos are the best and I am super thankful for your hard work here!!!

[@MrTmm97]

Not sure exactly what it means but I found Godrick the Grafted in an evergoal jail in the Altus Plateau much later after we beat him the first time….beat him again in the Evergoal. Not sure if it was his spirit or what.

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

Are you sure that wasn't Godefroy the Grafted?

[@MrTmm97]

@@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor no I’m like 99% sure it was the same boss we fought at the end of stormveil….he was all blue though like a spirit.

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

@@MrTmm97 I looked it up and that is the Golden Lineage Evergaol that you're talking about and therefore you're talking about Godefroy. He just uses the same model and has the same title as Godrick but he's different and has a slightly different attack pattern.

[@rafsandomierz5313]

@@MrTmm97 That is EXACTLY the Godefroy she was talking about in the video, Since in the lore Godefroy and Godrick are from the same bloodline and did kinda few shady things here and there, Fromsoft just reused the model and some of the move set for him.

[@leedex]

0:32 how can he be in a distance relation, when he is a part of the Golden Lineage. He is also known as Godrick the Golden like Godwin the Golden. So he must be the son of first Elden Lord, Godfrey and Queen Marika.

[@Welcometotheslam5424]

First thing: Godrick is NOT Godfrey’s son, not even close. Enia makes it clear, all of the other demigods are the direct children of Marika and Radagon, but Godrick was “but a distant relation.” He’s a descendant, and considering that Mohg and Morgott obviously never had children, Godrick was most likely GODWYN’S descendant.

[@ragdolls2riches563]

The Elbow King 💪🏻

[@NobodyInTheVoid]

Loving the lore vidz

[@JohnWilliams-cr2sz]

Loving these videos, Zoe is knocking them out of the park!

[@instrumentalfrand]

This game is absurdly rich.

[@dracorex426]

Gostoc is possibly Godrick's son.

[@itsyxx]

godfrey has a stand

[@mudhpow2072]

He is so pathetic he became iconic!

[@James-9999]

Godfree grafted his lion to himself

[@ragnard.freecs6412]

Didnt godfrey himself come up with grafting?

[@LagunaLeonhart]

And here I thought grafting was working hard. That changes my opinion of Godrick entirely.

[@danamaniac66]

Ahh yes Godfrey, the gigachad

[@DerpyBerb]

You’re busting out quality videos. Putting VaatiVidya out of a job.

[@Bell-xl9zx]

A lot of things in this video that are true but there's some things that just aren't true but besides that it's a good video

[@Bell-xl9zx]

Just some constructive criticism I'm not trying to offend anyone

[@marhawkman303]

@@Bell-xl9zx hmm so what do you feel is incomplete or inaccurate?

[@xenogil180]

Godrick is a d*ch canoe. Really enjoying this series, can't wait to see more!

[@MegaGil08]

Couldn't you say in a way that Sarosh is grafted to Godfrey? Maybe there is a correct way to do it in family lineage and Godrick is too dumb to figure it out.

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

That could be what grafting is based on within the lore. That is pretty cool to think of.

[@marhawkman303]

@@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor the idea seems to be that grafting takes the combined power of multiple beings and merges them into one. It'd be a heck of a difference between it being voluntary or involuntary. Godrick seems to be basically just... stealing other people's powers.

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

@@marhawkman303 That's what I was meaning to imply. In an attempt to replicate the kind of thing that is Sarosh and Godfrey, Godrick or the other dude started forcibly grafting others onto themselves in an attempt to gain more power and ignoring the fact that what it was between Sarosh and Godfrey was voluntary.

[@marhawkman303]

@@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor And also godrick's version was.. kind of... murder.

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

@@marhawkman303 i understand. I was just meaning that this could also fit with what he had been doing with the lion beasts and other stuff.

[@xyberninja1760]

you sound like some one who's never had a real Godfrey.

[@masonreith2382]

I like Zoe but she’s gotta stop making these. She’s not even in the Elden ring streams. Ian or Aoefa should be making these. Sorry Zoe, I love ya but this isn’t what you should be doing

[@nightmarethrenody8232]

What has her not being in the streams have to do with anything?

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

@@nightmarethrenody8232 they probably think she hsan't been playing it or something because she isn't in the streams which is stupid.

[@rafsandomierz5313]

Bro you are not deciding what she should and what she shouldn't or anyone's by that matter.

[@dankboys]

Hold this L Godrick