Elden Ring Lore: Radahn & Rykard Explained

[@eurogamer]

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

[@ryan1000011]

He did almost kill Malenia. She had to be carried all the way back to her tree in the north by one knight while unconscious There fight is actually considered a draw

[@emykus7717]

Yeah but, aftet that like, if they would've have remached, Malenia wins. Radahn was much more devastated by the rot than she was.

[@ryan1000011]

@@emykus7717 I agree and that goes along way to explain why u fight Radahn eairly on...he's nowhere near full power

[@tincano-beans2114]

@@emykus7717 our boy is holding back the flippin stars, dude forgot everything because of the rot, not lost his mojo.

[@_cripticon8004]

@@emykus7717 that’s because Radhan wasn’t healed/aided by his men, since they were almost all wiped out other than jeren. Malenia was helped, and the unalloyed gold in elphael would have helped her recover. Radahn did not have access to this, so if he was aided, like malenia was they would be equals. She only keeps her strength due to outside help, so I would still call it a draw.

[@sporkmaster12]

Radahn other than afflicted by rot was unharmed by malenia. Radahn was stronger, because while fighting he was still holding the stars with his magic.

[@nicholassmieleski814]

Idk if anyone took it this way, but I didn’t see it as Radahn had stopped using his gravity magic to take the weight off of Leonard (his horses name in the game files) due to his madness from rot. He’s still capable of gravity magic, even passively as he’s still holding back the stars completely (one could argue that if he’s still doing that then changing his weight would take no effort at all) and the fact that he simply hasn’t eaten Leonard shows he still has his affection for him. I think Leonard appears to be struggling simply because he would be like a century old at this point. He’s definitely being unnaturally kept alive, though he’s still a horse. He’s decrepit. In Radahn’s backstory he starts worrying about no longer being able to ride Leonard while he’s still growing, and we can see during the Shattering that he’s a fully grown man at this point (riding Leonard as well.) Also, keep in mind Ranni and others inform us that the Shattering is not a recent event, though it isn’t ancient. It’s described as happening an age ago (100 years.) So I think Leonard/his horse is just old as absolute fuck. Plus if Radahn wasn’t keeping his weight off of him he WOULD NOT be able to zip around the battlefield like Sonic the Hedgehog. Final point: during the fight you can see a faint purple aura emanating from where he’s resting on Leonard if binoculars or get very close. So not to worry everyone, Radahn is not crushing his boy. Homie’s just older than any horse in the history of space and time. Thanks for attending my TED Talk.

[@rwberger6]

Remember, his horse theoretically also has scarlet rot.

[@facundovera3227]

True, true. If Radahn wasn't using gravity magic his horse would be crushed.

[@vindicare9915]

I don’t think it is ever mentioned in game, but data mining reveals the name of Radahn’s horse: “Leonard”

[@eurogamer]

aw, so wholesome. Thanks for the tidbit! Zoe

[@ViciousChan]

Radahn wasn't really "no match" for Malenia, to be honest. They fought to a "stand still" and Malenia decided to go with mutually assured destruction and launched a fucking nuke, destroying Caelid in the process.

[@DirtyDeedsDoneDirtCheapD4C]

Actually wrong, Millicent explains that Malenia was losing and therefore abbandoned honor and pride and nuked Radahn so that she wasn't gonna lose, that's how strong is Radahn, in fact he was still able to control the stars in the sky even while rotten and mad. Malenia got rescued by Knightess Finlay and also worth noting that Blaidd says that Radahn is known as the strongest of all the demigods, which says it all, when we fight him he's simply like Artorias or Gael, completely demented

[@Aryan-is5yz]

No, maleina had to use the scarlet rot so she would end up in a draw. In all honesty maleina was no match for Radahn

[@DirtyDeedsDoneDirtCheapD4C]

@@Aryan-is5yz Exactly, literally two NPCs say this exact thing, how many more people does it take to make a person understand that Malenia was no match and cheated

[@Aryan-is5yz]

@@DirtyDeedsDoneDirtCheapD4C there was no winner but there was a sore loser lol

[@Greenfeld13]

@@Aryan-is5yz yeah....malenia. that's what he's telling you

[@WispsOfLight]

"The cutscene shows his beloved steed struggling to carry his weight." Immediately cuts to Radahn FLYING around on the horse.

[@stephendonovan5056]

I love how the lore in these things are brought out into narration. It really breathes an extra layer of life into it all.

[@Justin-M]

I'm working through all of your Elden Ring videos and they are amazing. I would absolutely love an unhinged just unedited, masterpiece of everything you find most interesting about the game. I find that this game is about personal interpretation and I would love to hear yours, either unfiltered, or just the deepest of dives into the lore you most compelling

[@monthc]

Even though I don't agree with all the conclusions drawn in these videos and have some differing speculations, they're some of the clearest and most concise breakdowns of Elden Rings lore. Bravo.

[@eurogamer]

Wow, thank you so much! That means a lot. Zoe

[@adner232]

Needing an army to defeat Radahn show how powerful he is

[@Hairymuffin2010]

I'm loving these individual character bio/lore videos. Keep them coming!

[@root0062]

I've noticed Rykards hand is that or similar of the enlarged hands at Carian Manor. I'm curious what the connection is there.

[@jademason6133]

I think it's hilarious that you can summon Patches to the Radahn fight and if you stay with him he looks at the fight then nopes out of there quickly without doing anything ETA I really enjoy these lore videos, must take ages to piece it all together for a video

[@marhawkman303]

FromSoft didn't make it easy this time. some lore is voice lines spoken by enemies, and some of those are in LATIN... yeah.... this is lore gathering for experts.

[@manea7074]

Radahn has one of the best lore in Fromsoft games.

[@cellP8]

and consequently, a horrible fate :(

[@bon.9296]

GRRM's involvement added a whole new layer of depth to the characters and complexity to the web of relations between them.

[@mattyt1me]

These lore videos are so flippin good - thank you for all the effort!!

[@PatrickLongblkwhtrbbt]

One of my friends who is playing concurrently with me, was so disgusted by what he found upon going back to Rykard's corpse he immediately murdered Tanith and got invaded by her bodyguard for the trouble. I thought it was hilarious myself; I had SUCH a hard time with Rykard I was perfectly fine leaving Tanith to munch him.

[@derekkrumel1407]

Dunno if it was here or elsewhere that I posted this but I had the thought that snakes move A LOT after they die. You can cut a snake's head off and it can still bite for, ostensibly, hours after being decapitated. So when he says 'a serpent never dies' it seems like an allusion to the real life properties of snakes; and also Rykard's delusions. Serpents die. They just don't know it at first. Anyway why are serpents the enemies of the erdtree? Because of how they seemingly subvert The Golden Order by their 'apparent' cheating of death? Idfk. anyway great vid as usual. I'm doing my own little lore study of Elden Ring and the Eurogamer vids are some of the best on the topic imho.

[@wwklnd]

A quick note re: Radahn's teacher, the Alabaster Lord: going by item descriptions (Alabaster Lord's Sword, dropped from the Alabaster Lord in the Lake of Rot, and the Onyx Lord's Greatsword, dropped from the Onyx Lord in the Sealed Tunnel in Altus Plateau near Leyndell) it sounds like Onyx and Alabaster Lords are separate but connected, sharing their appearance and origin.

[@rockOkilla7]

Radahn forced Malenia to used a cowardly tactic as nuking calied just to draw with him. He let her put her arm back on lol

[@spunoffsee]

No one: Absolutely no one: Me, to my wife and child today: EVERYONE SHUSH! Zoe Lore Video is up. As always, amazing work.

[@GameKandy]

I can’t watch because I’m still on my first play through - and yes I’m taking my sweet time. But I’m just here to like and comment because Zoe’s lore videos are just perfect, and yes I will be back to binge watch them all!

[@emmameehanhenry]

Play at your own pace, there's no rush in catching up with earlier players :)

[@JohnWilliams-cr2sz]

Another fantastic video! Rykard was such a great boss fight.

[@pascalakcan4613]

I’d like to mention that Radahn did not really lose it was more like a draw in my opinion. Considering Malenia was very close to death and her knight Finlay carried her all the way back to the Haligtree where she rests until we as tarnished confront and fight her

[@sgm6926]

when radahn usess his gravity aoe attackes he hides his horse under the ground and that shit makes me cry

[@KC_604]

They could easily do an computer animated tv show like league of legends did there is so much un tapped lore this is why I knew George r r marten was involved he’s notorious for this type of thing it’s why he’s so damn good of a writer

[@angelcabrera3309]

Keep going Zoe, feel like u got some of the best takes on the lore

[@RidireOiche]

Another great lore video. It is fun to think Ranni, Radahn and Rykard's new step mother The Goddess Marika made them into gods instead of doing something normal like taking them out for ice cream or to the zoo. Rennala must have been fuming.

[@Ostrava6572]

He was absolutely a match for Melania. Melania was salty she couldn’t beat him so she tried a botched suicide move meant to ruin everything for everyone even her own troops, all because she could not handle losing to chadahn. And this is when radahn was holding up the stars themselves and focusing on making himself lighter so he could ride his horse and Melania knew the only way she could hope to defeat him was with the scarlet nuke. And melenia would have been killed by radahn but was saved by one of her knights. And she was put in a coma ever since. Radahn while mad, still holds up the stars and protects his horse while Melania was stuck in a coma lol.

[@phantamanium6574]

Maybe about miquella and malenia? Or you can cover the lore about carians? Like history of the academy, former governor before rennala, master lusat and azur, etc

[@rwberger6]

When Radahn fought Malenia he's not at full power because a portion of his power is being used to hold back the stars. When the tarnished fights him in game he's still holding back the stars but is also weakened from scarlet rot, completely mad, and covered in injuries from combat. And he was still that powerful when we fight. And if he's still that strong imagine what he was like at full power in his prime.

[@jcraa91]

Radahn's story really makes you hate melania for unleashing the scarlet rot

[@cellP8]

oh boy, do i hate that wretch indeed

[@emykus7717]

They can easily make DLCs where you travel to the past like other Soulsborne games and fight these gods in their prime. Imagine fighting Radahn at %100! Or better yet, Malenia 👀

[@nightcatarts]

That'd be cool, especially since the game actually has a past all laid out already.

[@cellP8]

you already fight Malenia in her prime, the rot goddess is her final and most powerful form.

[@iyeetpaste3797]

Now do, _The Ferocious Fecal Feaster!_

[@sneekmuch]

For Radahn being part of the Carian family and having his fate tied to the stars they don’t seem to effect him that much. If he halted the stars before becoming rotted, how did hood fate change? Unless he halted the stars after he became mad with Rot, which isn’t impossible, just seems improbable E: not to mention we kill him, def affecting his fate before the stars are resumed.

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

I thought of a lore video idea you could do. I know that at least the jellyfish summon has lore regarding her and her sister and I think there is stuff for other summons too.

[@xenogil180]

Elden Ring lore is intense! Well done Zoe!

[@shby95]

Ready for the real twist that makes no sense? Go to the statue of Radagon in the capital, and use the incantation "Law of Regression" and read the note that appears when the statue changes.

[@cyclecili4648]

A mistake you guys made is stating that Radahn was no match for malenia. When it wasn’t the case, radahn was pretty much dominating so malenia, in a desperate attempt, abandoned all honor and stabbed radahn. The fight ended in a draw and malenia was dragged back to the hagiltree, but in reality he dominated.

[@natzkii7262]

Can someone explain how Radahn actually "died" since death isnt a thing among demi gods? Only ranni and maliketh can deliver death, isnt it?

[@markpierce5892]

if only people know these stories are alive

[@markpierce5892]

i mean really happened

[@thebeastinsdeu]

Incorrect, Malenia was losing and was a sore loser, thus the use of Scarlet Rot. Radahn was the stronger of the two and from the small clips we see he was in control of the fight.

[@asif5431]

Exactly. He broke that cripple's prosthetic in one swing.

[@SerPodrick]

i am concerned that Zoe thought cannibalism was "strangely sweet"

[@UnsafeTuna]

All the boss names are so similar I struggle to keep up. Great video though, very helpful

[@skullknight4579]

morgot called radahn a traitor, but weren't they on the same side?

[@samuraigames4125]

Radahn technically won or could have won vs malenia as he was obviously stronger, radahn is mentioned as the strongest demigod of all by the lore of the game itself and malenia is a demigod but she isn't considered the strongest although she is the undefeated swordsman. Maliketh is not a demigod hense why he isn't considered the strongest. If that was the case maliketh in my opinion is even stronger than all, or Godfrey in that manner. Radahn was the strongest of the "DEMIGODS" he was fighting malenia while holding back the literal stars. And malenia knew she couldn't defeat him so she unleashed her rot instead

[@Fraustyy]

Did anyone else notice Radahn doesn't have feet?

[@LacroixboiMarx]

Zoe lord hyyyype!!!

[@doppiovinegear9506]

Radahn, The STR enjoyer destroyed Malenia, The Weapon Art Spammer cuz Saints of No Summons Way know - Malenia is vampiric useless trash without her waterfowl move...

[@glass_of_whisky7746]

I dont think it is fair to say that radhan wasnt at Malenia level for me he won the fight because Malenia literally needed to use such a power to stop radhan, a power that could have killed her

[@Victorioinator]

"No match for malenia" Yeah idk about that, she nuked the whole continent and still couldn't beat Radahn.

[@mudhpow2072]

Why Radahn fight malenia?

[@pegasusrr3156]

Bc they dont like eachother

[@pastorofmuppets4552]

Ginger rivalry

[@steel5897]

Togethaaaaaaa

[@isaacmaya1915]

There is a lore theory that Marika shattered the elden ring on purpose to see if any of the demigods were strong enough to rise above the others and claim elden lord. Godrick was far too weak, ranni had her own plans, rykard was a traitor, miquella was nowhere to be seen (stolen by mohg), leaving malenia of Marika and radahn of rennala the 2 most likely. However neither one could best the other fighting to a standstill ending with malenia destroying all of caelid and returning to the haligtree to await her brothers return, while radahn was left to be consumed by the madness and the world stagnant without a lord.

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

It's also common for people to think Marika shattered the Elden Ring in order to escape the Greater Will.

[@brentgarrison6245]

Except she already suspected they would fail. Quite possibly intended for them to fail. As she seeded the Tarnished in advance, intending them to return after the Ring was destroyed and battle to rebuild it.

[@pupintheturdiii]

Rick'ard*

[@eurogamer]

My mistake, thanks! Zoe

[@princesek5306]

false narrative.. the game clearly stated that it was a stall mate no winner . If anything the scarlet rot save malenia “Radhan was clearly no match for malenia” I stop the video soon as you said .. because you just saying anything

[@cellP8]

forgive her bro, mistakes can be made...

[@badstar9670]

You are aware of who Radohn really is right? It's a spoiler

[@badstar9670]

Hes not just some demi god there's much more to it then that if you use law of regression on his statue in the royal capital you learn who " he " really is

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

@@badstar9670 You mean Radagon. This video is talking about Radahn who is their son along with Rykard.

[@badstar9670]

Whoops man their names are so similar that I get them confused.

[@badstar9670]

I really wish there was more lore videos and I appreciate yours! That's my one gripe with the game is that I wish there was bit more overt story building , where we know what happened when or why , and rather we would find out most answers by speaking to different people and through a variety of quests. So it's super helpful to have these videos thanks

[@CodaBlairLucarioEmperor]

@@badstar9670 That's been a complaint a lot of people have been making from what I understand.