Elden Ring Lore - The Curse of the Revenants

[@midouban628]

The Revenants seem to appear mostly in places that have a connection with the Carian Royal Family or the Raya Academy (Liurnia of the Lake, Kingsrealm ruin, Selia hideaway, and Moonlight Altar), and we know the Carian Royal Family and the Academy are not exactly chummy with the Golden Order. Furthermore, the exception to that rule is spawned in places where worship against the Erdtree is practiced (Sewer with the Omen, Shaded Castle with the Goddess of Rot, and Haligtree which seeks to surpass the Erdtree).

[@michaelblevins1651]

That’s why I have a feeling they were an early form of punishment back when Marika was uniting all under her rule

[@pidipecan1055]

great insight... they do pop up in the magic places.

[@imfromtheinternett6155]

Then why are there 5 in elphael ?

[@tepigninja7198]

I remember my very first encounter with one of these things, it is forever burned into my brain. I think it was near where you meet Rya in the Lakes. I approach these cool looking ruins and one of these guys climb out the ground. My fight or flight senses kicked in immediately and it told me to run away very fast when it started screaming and I saw how quickly and erratically it zipped around the place. It eventually does the teleport move and foolish me thought I was finally safe, then it reappears behind me and pummels me to death like Star Platinum. Truly one of the best and most horrifying experiences I’ve ever had in a game. lmao

[@builtlikemotomoto]

No amount of hours, levels and firepower will ever prepare one for that screech. Whenever I hear it I get anxious.

[@vermillion6159]

People say that the Snowfield Runebears are scary, but while they are bullet sponges and hit pretty hard, they still have well telegraphed moves for the most part. But these things? With their speed and amount of hits they throw out per second they're taking the cake for the most irritating enemy in the game in my opinion. Thankfully they aren't THAT common in the grand scheme.

[@maxwellschmid588]

The very first one I ever encountered was in the sainted heroes grave. It was in that dark area under the stairs in the tomb. I immediately ran as far and fast as I can and went down multiple passages and thought I was safe when I started fighting some imps, And then it rounded the corner and pummeled me. I think the fact that it chased me for that long and never Lost aggro terrified me more than anything else lol

[@Kaipanzer-r2w]

My first encounter was the capital sewer which is worse dark area and terrifying enemy spawned out of nowhere

[@tylerpetersen6226]

One thing I learned for certain is the revenant stun window from healing could do with an extra half second.

[@pidipecan1055]

so true. they recover really fast!

[@zenebean]

I love the art for this one, changing the normal pose to give it the gravitas of something "royal" and a true horror. Your explanation of these as cursed beings makes sense with the gold-black mist they produce is also being given off by Royal Omens and the Deathblight curse. I like the theory I've seen that Ranni's mentor, Renna, was one of the wraith callers due to being the only natural creature with 4 arms, using bells like the spirit calling bell, and riding creatures like how we ride Torrent. Maybe Renna was falling to the curse but had not yet been corrupted by it, having time to teach Ranni and give away Torrent before fully falling. It could be a reason she seems to be dead despite few dying in these lands

[@sakrefunholy]

then the revenant we see in the catacombs, that is connected to the carian royal family, could be Rannis mentor instead.

[@onewaysaintlaika]

@@sakrefunholy Or in the Lunar ruins!

[@schwiftyvibes2612]

Just say you sucked at Fromsoft games, that’s quicker.

[@abaddon130]

​​@@schwiftyvibes2612projecting.

[@wyattml1641]

Players thought whenever one ( or god forbid more than one) shows up. “Revenants. Why did it have to be revenants.”

[@rishg134]

That alley in Elphael. . .

[@CulturedPotato]

​@@rishg134 You can avoid the revenant alley by going across it from the Prayer Room sight of grace and killing the putrid avatar on the bridge.

[@rishg134]

@@CulturedPotato Good to know if you can still use this route to get to the item at the end of the alley (maybe Cleanrot Knight ashes, if memory serves). I’ll never be going back in that alley in either case

[@CulturedPotato]

@@rishg134 It's Marika's Soreseal, and yes, you can drop down right on top of the room and use a stonesword key to enter the room and get the talisman.

[@rishg134]

@@CulturedPotato Cool, cheers!

[@sk8legendz]

revenant attack speed : *x4* player attack speeed : *x1*

[@spacecowboy7193]

More to the point of the wraith callers, I think they might have been another race, magic wielders of which Renna was one. There’s no way of knowing what caused them to go feral, but the fact that they have robes and bells suggests they weren’t always screeching nightmares. Their locations suggest mages, lending more credence to the idea the snowy witch was one, explaining why Ranni’s form has 4 arms.

[@PeachT87]

This is such a great point, thanks!

[@Writh811]

These are tricky enemies and until recently I had no idea what to make of them but my current deduction feels they will be better defined in the DLC. There are some additional elements that MAY fill this enemy's nature out more for us. The magical energy emitted by the Revenants and the spirit callers is the same color as Omen spells and Morgotts cursed blood. Omen are said to be haunted in their dreams by spirits and I can't help but feel these creatures are connected. The omen bairn fires projectiles that look like the projectile attacks unleashed by the spirit callers. Staying on the theme of color, that image for the DLC is also fascinating... It's color palette matches the colors in Omen Spells and revenant portals: browns, golds, and black.(look at the sky in that image and then either spell effect) It could just be a coincidence but then lets combine that coincidence with the popular theory about the DLC. That being we are going to the dream/spirit world. The two locations seem to have have indications that they maybe linked via item descriptions and examples of Tibia Mariner's lanterns and glow emit the purple hue of Sleep. If those theories are truths it aligns with the fact Omen are haunted by spirits when they SLEEP. Another interesting matter of spirits and colors: The ghosts guarding the Walking Mausoleums have a spirit color that matches this gold brown black motif. We know that colors are important for distinguishing things in Elden Ring and so anything attached to the Spirit World will reflect a gold/brown/black motif, if my logic is to be believed. With all this in mind let me posit a theory directly: When the Revenants are portalling they are tunneling between our world and the spirit world. They seem to only be able to break through in places surrounded by death as there are often ruins or graves where they appear. Based on the DLC image we see Miquella is in the Spirit World and the video pointed out that Revenant drop Bewitching Branches. Rather than thinking they got these at the Haligtree I think they got them straight from Miquella. He is encountering these creatures in the spirit world and using these branches to compel loyalty on the revenants, not necessarily to make an army but perhaps to prevent himself from being attacked. I believe this also means there are two forms of Spirit calling at play and while one was deemed acceptable the other was labeled heresy. When we use Spirit Calling we are calling on a portion of the spirit that was left behind in this world for the purpose of being called on. This gives us the pale ghostly companions we know. But this other form of spirit calling which seems to be heretical involves reaching into the spirit world and pulling the spirit into this world to hurl at your enemy (Brown/gold/black fireballs). It is this completely spirit world based nature that makes healing spells anathema to the Revenants. This would also explain why Omen were at one time seen as blessed and now are considered curse. Prior to the inception of the Golden Order, Death included spirits going to the spirit world. The Omen in the past may have served as a living conduit to the spirit world which may have been more placid prior to the Golden Order hijacking the death process. With Death derailed the spirit world would be directly affected and the Erdtree subsuming its roll may be corrupting this place. This would cause the spirits that may have once been benevolent messengers to the Omen to become tormentors. Which could make the issue we address in the DLC a bit bigger than the Prince of Death while still having him just be more problems piled on top. Horrifyingly, if I am right, the DLC is going to have an even worse version of the Royal Revenant in it. Sorry for the wall and thanks for the food for thought!

[@thomashooper2451]

There seems to be an association with the Liurnia and the Carian royal family, but I thought there were a variation on the Grafted Scions and Godrick when I first saw them. Perhaps the art of grafting was originally something practiced by the mages of Raya Lucaria, and it was later outlawed and labeled as a heresy once Rennala married Radagon and joined forces with the Erdtree? The practice fell out of use until Godrick revived it in a desperate effort to make himself strong enough to stand up to the other demigods.

[@allthe1]

Maybe grafting is an attempt at mimicking this curse? Some ppl in ER seem to want to be cursed to gain power

[@PeachT87]

I would counter with, Godrick in his infinite hubris, sought to copy this curse with his grafting as he saw the strength of the Royal revenants and laid some claim to it being part of the golden lineage.

[@malbhet]

I think Ranni's teacher was a revenant given how they have 4 arms and Ranni based her doll body on her teacher which also has 4 arms. Also Ranni hand the player a spirit summoning bell that looks exactly like the bells the revenants use. I hope they go more into Renna, Ranni, and the revenants history in the dlc.

[@FayeRantTheStrong]

Don't they have 6 arms though? Also i don't think they're connected, as Marionettes also have 4 arms, so it's more doll thing. Renna was a snow witch and Ranni's body is modeled after her and it doesn't look like revenant. Fun theory, but i don't think it's true.

[@zenebean]

@@FayeRantTheStrong The smaller wraiths only have the four arms, and are also the ones who use the bells. It could either be Ranni is a high quality version of a marionette which has those arms as default, or Ranni's mentor also had 4 arms and the marionettes were made later with 4 arms out of inspiration. Renna might have met and taught Ranni when the curse hadn't fully taken hold, the doll body showing the Renna Ranni knew

[@beniron5807]

That’s what I also assumed. Dan I clearly revers her teacher. She takes on her image in doll form when her body is destroyed and the which is said to be “a crone” so old af. I’d say they are likely the oldest “moon” followers who fell to Godfrey. She then likely showed Ranni the Orders true colors which were then confirmed when Radagon mentally broke her mother. That’s why we find them in all the Moon connected ruins. The ones we find in the sewer are likely attracted to all the cursed spirits in that messed up place.

[@FreedomAndPeaceOnly]

Prepare for the timewarped DLC boss of nightmares *_" Malenia of the Rot - Royal Revenant of the fallen Haligtree "_* Please no. ^_^

[@dootmarine1140]

@@FreedomAndPeaceOnly since Blackflame Friede was an absolute surprise 3rd phase that was hard as nails... Prepare for Malena, Goddess of Rot, a 4-phase Malenia fight

[@babsteinbabbenburger2578]

Really impressed by your script-writing and delivery. Very comfy.

[@square-table-gaming]

Thank you!

[@jaxdakid5598]

maybe it’s cause they like being silly and the silliest thing they could do in their mind was twisting and contorting, growing extra arms and legs, screaming, spewing poison, and teleporting. just some silly dudes haha

[@imfromtheinternett6155]

Teehee 😅

[@leonard5426]

A lot of enemies in Elden Ring have real-life counterparts from either botany or geology. Take the Omen for example: In Botany, the word Omen refers to sprouts or characteristics of the original tree growing instead of the grafted-on branches. In that symbolism, the Royal Revenants are hollowed out tree stumps, that sprouted new limbs after the initial wounding event. Returning back to life after being "dead" for a while. Thus the name, Revenant. To quote Wikipedia: "Hollows may form as the result of physiological stress from natural forces causing the excavating and exposure of the heartwood. Forces may include wind, fire, heat, lightning, rain, attack from insects (such as ants or beetles), bacteria, or fungi." A lot of these forces are represented in Game by various factions. Wind is the Stormking, Fire the Fire Giants, Lightning the Anchient Dragons, Insects are the Ones who live in death and Fungi is the Scarlet Rot. If you consider the founding rain of stars, you could even interpret the Mages of Liurnia to represent rain, but its a stretch. Two important questions arise, that I would want to answer: What faction do/did the Revenants belong to, and who cursed them. My idea would be that they belong to the Crucible. The Crucible is said to be life overflowing, without restraint and without direction, and the branching bodies of the revenants, as well as their association with the brown-golden-ish effects that the firebreath of horned Omen and the incantations of the Crucible Knights share, indicate this connection. It is possible, that this connection is a secondary effect/curse placed on them. When the Dung Eater defiles a corpse, that soul is cut off from the Erdtree and can't rise from it again. I always thought this meant they would rise as Omen, but upon further consideration, it could also mean that they were simply mortal and would turn into wraiths upon their next death. It could also mean both, living as an Omen, then dying and becoming a wraith, as the Omen bairn represents a dead Omen child and can summon wraiths. This means members of the Golden Order and the Tarnished race can be artificially bound to the Crucible, something the game calls a curse over and over again. And the culprit here is the Dung Eater, who, may we keep in mind, tears out something from the abdomen of his victims, close to where the Revenants have their hollow opening. There is an abundance of theories on this: What did he tear out and replaced with the seedbed curse? The soul? The Testicles? The Heartwood maybe? Could that mean that the Revenants are victims of the Dung Eater, in which the Seedbed Curse couldn't fully gestate? Or was this the intended effect of the curse? Add it to the pile of "What the hell is the Dung Eater even doing?" But if we imagine that the revenants were natural sprouts of the Crucible before their death, the culprit could very well be the Golden Order and/or the Dragon Cult of Leyndell. Radagon himself uses a lot of Lightning, one of the elements that can create a hollow. We know that he lead a crucade into Liurnia to defend the Erdtree. And we find a lot of Revenants in Liurnia and in the Sewers below Leyndell. This could mean that the Wraithcallers and still-alive Revenants of the Crucible opposed the Invasion of Liurnia and had their heartwood burned out by Radagons Thunderbolts.

[@berylman]

Casting greater heal spells on these mofos is perhaps the most satisfying experience in the entire game

[@TRACTOOOOOOOOOR]

I wasn't ready for those revenants on the haligtree. Worst enemy in the game.

[@drakmendoa]

Second. Right after the Rune Bears. 😨

[@Felix-Sited]

@@drakmendoa Dogs. Dogs are always b@stards in these games. Just let me kill you!!!!!

[@nlm7033]

Hyetta tells us that the Golden Order was flawed, and that from that flaw arose birth/death, curses (plural), etc. The particles for the wraithcaller/revenant fireballs are identical to the Dung Eater attacks/Omen Bairn attacks. The common line here is being "accursed." I think all of the cursed beings in the lands between are somehow related.

[@duffinthemuffin5792]

The first time i saw one of them I went "that thing is MESSED UP" and then proceeded to die almost immediately

[@ArchonTimatron]

I always just thought they were leftover/failed graftings

[@umukzusgelos4834]

What do we learn from this... Marika and her flock sure have had a short fuse

[@gundamdetractor337]

ppl talk about how Godrick keep things like grafted scions in his castle, but look at the monstrosities Malenia keeps at her hideout. those things are disgusting. i don't mind them being artificially strong, but giving them that much poise makes no sense tbh, even at such.

[@ghosttimm420]

Another detail, their bodies emit that same gold/black mist as deathblight. 🤔

[@zenebean]

Since royal omens with horns and the curse of Death both give off this mist, it might be what is given off by curses in general as a kind of miasma

[@pidipecan1055]

thank goodness that isn't another status effect they apply. but you are right, it looks the same!

[@AegisKHAOS]

The only lore I need are 'heal' or 'RUN AWAY'.

[@alexandermorgan5958]

The crowns these things wear are different from the circlets being worn by the wandering nobles. Does that have any implications? I couldn't say. That being said, they strike me as something that was noticably out of place, even before the Erdtree. Something else to note is that the writh-calling bell's projectiles deal magic damage, not holy. This might tie into the whole 'cursed Carians' theory. On an unrelated note, cool video. Some time in the future, could you try looking into the Ancient Heroes of Zamor? I still can't puzzle together why one was trapped in the Weeping Penninsula. That's about as far away from their homeland as you can get.

[@darkmage4648]

The shriek gives me nightmares

[@ultra824]

here's an alternative explanation of why healing effects harm them: the curse causes the natural healing process to malfunction, generating new flesh instead of repairing damaged flesh, and healing magic aggravates or accelerates that process?

[@MaximillionPegasusJ.Crawford]

Thats a very interesting theory. I think they are specifically tied to Liurnia and whatever happened there. The Landlord Theory is great, i think it fits greatly. My theory is, that they were landlords in Liurnia or dukes under Queen Rennala. Then, when Radagon attacked Liurnia and the Academy, he cursed them as they would submit. Maybe there is some sort of outer god with specifically 4 Arms the Carians are loyal to. Maybe Radagon just said;"Fuck it, If you guys like to have 4 arms, then take a dozen." as some sort of macabre joke. There is a lot of 4 armed imagery in Liurnia. The Marionettes are all four armed, ranni has four arms, wraithcallers have four arms. I dont think Rennala engaged with Radagon willingly. I think Radagon won and forced to marry her and that amber egg she has, has manipulative powers. Very strange story. I cant explain why there is a revenant in the shaded castle. Maybe its because they defied the golden Order to simp for Malenia instead? Maybe thats the same reason for the other revenants in the haligtree? Btw, sorry for the mediocre english, im not a native english speaker

[@fguati]

I remember seing somewhere the idea that the wraith callers and revenants were associated in some form with the Omens, since both are cursed and the Omens descended from royalty and the Omen Bairn item attack with wraiths that look very similar to that of the wraith callers and the Revenants teleportation spell

[@Jikuri]

I guess they are halfway in being consumed in under ground burials but they got corrupted, escaped or rejected the whole process that's why they spawned everywhere.

[@topcat59]

It’s likely possible they were cursed before the golden order was in charge of things, since to me they look like they’ve been around for a few decades and their noble robes are very different from normal noble attire in the kingdom.🤔🐱

[@ignitiongaming136]

Amazing video as always. I always love hearing the lore deep dives on enemies and bosses, and has made me think of my own theories. One of them, if you wish, i would like to hear your take on it. My Theory: that the Reagle Ancestor, The Spirit Monsters of The Lands Between, and Spirit Ash, are all conected. And that the Ancestor and Reagle Ancestor are the first attempt at making spirit ash in the lands between.

[@matthewmartinez3907]

The new “Heal from Afar” spell really evened the field with these guys, you don’t have to get too close to them and hope they don’t close in fast to interrupt your casting. Base game one cast of HfA guard breaks them too.

[@alchemy5750]

One of the most horrifying and most well-designed enemies out there that literally put pressure on my first playthrough after meeting the one in the lakes. Ever since that, I was on edge through entire Liurnia cause I knew they can just appear out of nothing without any warning and whenever I saw those lesser little caster guys that surrounded the revenant before, I was half expecting one to climb out of the ground... until I calmed down a bit and kinda forgot about them only to get a reminder in shaded castle again. Thank god my first character was str/fth so I could use the heal tech. These things scared me enough back then without their brutal attack patterns, at least I had a sure way to immobilize them for long enough to take them out.

[@wolfiemuse]

They are by FAR some of the worst enemies to deal with from my experience. I also thought they stood out some and didn’t have a lot of explanation I always thought of them as some grafted anomaly, but I understand why it seems like that isn’t the case. I wonder if they are some leftover remnant of cut content that had more of a description

[@zenebean]

Part of me feels like they crawled from Bloodbourne 2 development, clasped on the back of Astel like those fish that ride sharks

[@sasugakirin]

I have a kind of wild theory: What if these Revenants are related to the Dung Eater? We all kind of assumed that Dung Eater’s defilement makes people into Omens, but is that true? Omens clearly existed before the Tarnished returned, so DE can’t have made all of them. Omens and Revenants have the same black-gold fire energy, so perhaps they are linked. The Wraith Caller bell says that it summons vengeful spirits, and Omens are said to be tormented by evil spirits. Perhaps DE is (intentionally or not) creating Revenants to curse and haunt newborns. Further, the defiled corpses we find are clearly … internally damaged, so that could be why the Revenants have no innards. They could also be affected by Erdtree magic because they are forever removed from the erdtree by DE’s defilement. Even if you hold to the idea that the defilement makes a person into an omen, we don’t really know the process. Since omens are omens from birth, what if the defiled soul just reincarnates into a newborn, and the left-behind defiled corpse becomes a Revenant, with no guts or eyes because it’s just a husk animated by the seedbed curse. In Dung Eater’s ending, maybe the world is just Omens tormented by Revenants. Which sounds even worse.

[@dootmarine1140]

I found something very interesting considering Miyazaki does often get inspired by mythology: The attack where they lunge forward and unleash that flurry of spanks is called something like "the hundred-hand strike" if I recall correctly. In greek mythology, one version of events anyways, there were three giants said to have a hundred hands and 50 heads each, named the Hecatoncheires or Centimanes. They were the children of Gaia and Uranus. When Zeus was born, freed his siblings and marched on mount Olympus, the Centimanes fought alongside him and aided in dethroning the titans and crowning Zeus as a new god. Then, when Zeus was now the king of Olympus, they guarded the titans, who were imprisoned in Tartarus. There's an interesting similarity if you look at where Royal Revenants are found: Liurnia and locations related to the Carian family, and the Haligtree. Two of these locations house, or at least at one point were home to Empyreans. Empyreans, as we all know, being the creatures chosen to... Overthrow the gods. Had Ranni or Miquella-Malenia chosen to march on Leyndell with these Royal Revenants as part of their armies, they would have taken the hundred-handed ones, besieged the home of the ruling 'gods' and placed their leader on the throne... Just like the greeks myth say. Another interesting fact is that in Greek mythology the Hecatoncheires lived near or in the sea. Once again we find them in watery locations. Liurnia is sinking into a lake and the Haligtree is just about as sitting in the ocean as any location in ER gets.

[@jacobfreeman5444]

There is a connection between water and death. Unclean death, like the ones who live in death, often have murky water nearby. So places near or surrounded by water can be said to have a stronger connection to the spirit world.

[@dootmarine1140]

@@jacobfreeman5444 undoubtedly correct, but I just looked at water and revenants in their context within real world mythology and how that could relate to the game. They're definitely connected to death and undeath, their wraith calling calling brethren and teleport animation made that pretty clear.

[@thepiratedoggo1996]

i do like the theory they might have been punished or perhaps afflicted by there curse for going against marika and the golden order, it's hard to place them but id agree with most people, they seem linked to Carian nobility and they could have been a result of those who maybe dissagreed with the joining of there houses when radagon married Renalla and thus were punished. In terms of gameplay im glad they uncommonly appear, they certain provide a nasty challenge for new players and even experienced ones even when exploiting there healing weakness.

[@pearljaime2]

Here's the official lore: Myazaki was having a bad day and thought "hmmm... I want to share this feeling with everybody".

[@trajano777]

I believe Renna was part of this race, but not a revenant, revenant is their accursed state. As for the royal revenant i think their twisted and deformed form might be result of inbreeding. Think aboutvit in real life many royal families suffered deformities for that cause and in many cases like the Apsburg (not sure thats how you spell it), they had a very characyeristic jaw. So maybe for a race with with 4 limbs having more would be consider a simbol of status. As of why they are cursed might be related to spirit manipulation (remember Ranni gives us the bell we use to summon spirit ashes which is very similar to the one the wraiths use),they might have perform rituals and experiments that cause their very souls to be damned to have no rest as they casued misery to the spirits of the dead.

[@PerchPrincesss]

You didn't mention how the Wraiths, their projectile is the same texture of form as the ones used by the Omens. Their cursed imo must be connected to the Omen's curse.

[@theeternalbruh1267]

When they spawn, you have like 3 seconds to heal spam them, or they will teleport to mars, pluto, and then jump all the back to smack you 1 million times a second

[@warmagicks]

by far this is my favourite thumbnail! excellently done. one thought that came to mind is that all the revenants and wraith callers all appear to be women, as indicated by the wimples that they wear (a medieval head covering). secondly, the lands between is a matriarchal society; women are usually the ones that rise to the level of leadership. revenants are also the largest, and arguably the most horrifying, of the three variants, the other two being the wraith caller and horse rider. basically what i'm trying to imply is that the revenant could have been, in life, the head of her household and given the medieval context of the game, what do noblewomen usually have in attendance? handmaids. personally, i can easily believe that the revenant used those in servitude to her, even in death, by creating the twisted body it presents in the current game. bonded in death, as they were in life, you could say.

[@aranthur]

Great video! Always interested to hear your takes on these things :) One theory I had for the callers and revenants, personally, is that they are in fact wraiths just like the ones they summon, cursed spirits who can never know rest or reincarnation. They're just ones that have learned how to manifest physical bodies or maybe possess corpses they find lying around?? So rather than the physical ground, they are more like moving in and out of the spirit realm when they appear and disappear As for the extra limbs, this may have to do with the power of the particular spirit or even the number of spirits contained in this one body, making the "royal revenant" title less like a king and more like a rat-king, with many forms all merged together into one If there really is a link between the wraith-callers and the snowy crone, as many people suspect, her being a spirit that can manifest physically may have been part of the inspiration for Ranni's plan to shed her own flesh and exist as just a soul

[@Okkusen]

The land in the world of Elden Ring is so sad and depressing. From Software did really carry on the Dark Souls Mood in this game. I just stumbld upon your channel as I just finished Elden Ring, thank you for the bringing more life into the Lore!!

[@monkeyman5290]

I honestly thought that these royal revenants were a variant of grafted scions that were unsuccessful and ended up with the death of the subject. This would later be cursed to come back to life through a possession by a wraith.

[@break6t]

These theories that the Revenant's origins are older than Radagon make sense to me. I never thought their forms were created by any means other than grafting. But if that's the case, and they pre-date that practice altogether, I wonder if they're actually the inspiration behind grafting? Another theory that'd make sense to me as well is that their inhuman form is related to the Omen and the Crucible, and in the same way that horns and tree branches are often associated, the way their bodies grow like trees makes them omen and misbegotten, once existing in a time when they were accepted. Some had wings, and horns, breathed fire. Some may have grown twisted, branching bodies and spit acid? Also, I try not to focus too much on the color of their powers, because there are only so many easily distinguishable colors and a very wide range of powers within Elden Ring; but I can't tell if the Amber/Brown hue of the puddles they crawl out of from the ground look more similar to wraiths and death blight, or more like the Amber/Orange color of the powers of the Crucible...

[@allthe1]

Looks like the color of Wraiths, both of the Omen and the Callers

[@thenbm2000]

One thing I noticed is that their flame spells, burn the same sickly brown-yellow as the royal omens. Perhaps the curse mentioned is the Seedbed Curse itself (it is basically the only curse name dropped in the game). That could also explain their various limbs, as rampant growth is super associated with the crucible (which gives us omens and misbegotten). Grafting to me seems to be a crummy imitation of the crucibles blessings (more of godrick trying to cling to his grandpa's crucible legacy). This doesn't explain why the royals in question seem to be more carian in nature though. As most everyone the Dung Eater cursed were royals aligned with the erdtree. But maybe he vacationed in liurnia? I dunno. They definitely seem associated with the Omens though

[@Ang3lD0wn]

First of all your lore videos are outstanding perfection Second these cursed dudes are the embodiment of FromSoftware hate for shield users. And finally why in the hell they are in the catacombs maybe someone buried or sealed them there because they were royalty

[@HenryGreenEngine3]

queen marika really is just the worst

[@drakmendoa]

They also take no bonus damage from holy attacks like those who life in death do. The main question for me remaining are there powers. They can vomit an acid like poison even without organs. Where do they produce this and how do they get this power? They can teleport short distances, which is something only seen by the bloodhound knights, and then there is also their power of sinking into the ground. The circle around them when they do this looks like Morgots attack when he is at 50% health or some attacks the Omens do. So maybe it is tied to the crucible. When they sink into the ground it looks like they try to stop the process like someone trys to hold onto a leg when he is falling into a hole. Which I can't make sense of, because it would imply they don't want to go under the ground, but then who would make them go this way?

[@TreiberSeptim]

That’s interesting, I always figured they were grafting experiments or people who lost their mind when grafting others to themselves.

[@thatll-do7606]

Not strictly a revenant thing, but between them and grafting a lot of imagery in this game reminds me of the experiments of Unit 731. Nasty stuff

[@luvlols4462]

Your girl Therolina got this. Best summon for these monstrosities.

[@MrMrnumbersdontlie]

They appear to be well over the place like the one on the leyndell sewers. One thing is for sure. They are not on the Golden order good side. Lets see what the DLC gives us on them.

[@RemWillOvercome-ie3ec]

I believe the first time one of these popped out on me it will be a video game memory I have forever.

[@douglaschilders604]

I revenants were connected to shunned and cursed monsters, such as Omens or Misbegotten, considering the Dung Eater's projectiles and the projectiles from the horned child talisman share the same form as the wraith callers.

[@fearlessretaliator4997]

Thank you for the video, i didnt plan to sleep tonight.

[@jeniskindof]

Those fuckers are the reason all my character have some faith to cast heal

[@rwberger6]

I had a completely different theory about their origin. When discussing a "curse" in elden ring the most common and biggest example are things to due with the Crucible and Omens. Their curse came from the remnants of the Crucibles power coming through the erdtree and effecting them before birth and before they could be infused with grace. The dung eater and some of the omens also use a attack of vengeful spirits and curse energy similar to the wraith callers. So what I think is they are people whose rebirth through the erdtree was interfered with by the Crucible's power, cursing them and twisting their forms. Healing spells harm them because its powered by the grace they were stripped of.

[@NIGHTMAREGOD50]

I hate the revenants so much they’re too jittery and move way too fast for me to even keep up I especially hate the rapid running slash attack I feel like revenants have killed me more than anything else in the game.

[@electrichunnel6281]

its worth pointing out that wraiths can also be used by omen, and unlike the worshipers who use bells to summon them omens can shoot wraiths out of their bodies. maybe the curse on revevnants is similar to the omen curse?

[@hiimvegan5366]

I have a little theory that they kinda share a simular fate to godwyn that their soul was killed but their bodys are cursed to live on and that those extra arms are some different form of Mutation

[@Chris-vx5kp]

Just north of the Nomadic Merchant Liurnia of the Lakes there are some wraiths without crowns that do not call spirits. They are like mini revenants that attack you physically. I never see the mentioned in lore videos.

[@solidsouljaL]

I just recently subscribed and love the channel. It helps me connect the dots in the plot and I learn stuff I never heard about. Keep up the good work!

[@darklordauron]

The bilateral symmetry and backwards legs invokes more of a centipede and how their last pair of legs are often weird, elongated things. I think a lot of this theory aligns with what we see. But I have this suspicion that centipedes and the centipede ring of Fia's rune bears some consideration that there may be some ephemeral overlap. And perhaps the grub aspect could refer to that a more evolved form would have many more arms and take on a much more centipede-like length and arm count.

[@everettgaspar3482]

This is a great theory. It makes them even creepier. I always assumed they were similar to the grafted scions.

[@patrickboland2231]

Fun fact! In the game files these things are called"Horribleness grubs", implying that whatever they are they are only the baby form. Let THAT sink in.

[@square-table-gaming]

We bring this up in the vid! Personally I think it's a hold of her name from something they used to be. The hollow insides are more reminiscent of a cocoon than a grub.

[@peterdavis7695]

Man, the things you find when you go looking to see if anyone's done a playthrough with all the enemies replaced with revenants.

[@Magiya93]

The kingsrealm ruins were destroyed by the knights of the cuckoo during the academy’s rebellion against the carians, which would have taken place after radagon left rennala. Agree that the royal revenant there is likely connected to the carian royals.

[@ApplePi3.]

Uhhg the catch phrase at the end "More... Elden Lore." First time I heard it I rolled my eyes, now I say it along with them, every time.

[@square-table-gaming]

This makes me happy

[@ApplePi3.]

@@square-table-gaming Your videos make me happy. Win Win.

[@evanslotnik4387]

Been waiting on this one a long time thanks STG

[@DM-zh2kt]

I always saw they as the possible result of the death bed companions. They where forced to lay with nobles, maybe the result was a curse on the revived noble.

[@Emdimyan]

Berserk is obviously the biggest influence in the souls series (which elden ring is a part of, of course) but it shouldn't eclipse other great influences on Miyazaki's work such as DnD(Tolkien) and RPGs in general and it's been a long-standing trope in RPGs that healing magick (prayers, miracles, cleric spells, etc.) damage or kill undead enemies. In Miyazaki's myth however, most people are undead and able to benefit from healing magicks... until these came along. Wether if most people in the lands between are undead or not is debatable (not sure if leyndell's homunculus-like inhabitants count as undead or just undying), even if the tarnished count as undead is not clear, they certainly died to get to the lands between but this is not enough to count (though I believe it to be enough for the player to be cast once again as the "chosen undead") but there's definitely undeads in the lore in the form of em' called "those who live in death" and I believe them to be the result of Fia's mending rune having an effect on the elden ring. This would make their existance a byproduct of Godwyn's gold mana flowing through every aspect of creation, even Death. And it seems like just as Godwyn's current undead body, they are a coccoon for something far more dreadful.

[@eldenringpvpenthusiast1710]

Man these things intrigue me so much. I wonder if they have anything to do with centipedes? Might be some symbolism there, I feel like I read centepedes are attracted to death or something like that. Also I cant remember what cursed gaping dragon from ds1, but maybe a parallel could be made?

[@ShadowOoOwalker]

Watching this with the dlc as context, the wraiths remind me of the village that fell to a plague. Those who survived the affliction grew extra arms and wings, gaining a new immunity to the plague. Could the wraiths be the ones who fell to the plague?

[@faustusdrake]

The only take I have is that they're cool af. (Well, and a joke-take about bein' related to Pthumerian Descendants; lanky, pasty dudes with hollow eye sockets and an affinity for unga-bunga). Anyway nice vid! Didn't realise there was so little info/mention of these guys in game, and I can deff buy into the thoughts presented here ^^

[@spencersheahan9709]

I think Ensha is connected to the Revenants as he dawns the Royal Remains which is crafted with the corpse of the "Souless King." Both have are tied to the undead and while Ensha himself does not seem to be the actual Souless King the armor defintely bears a connection.

[@spencersheahan9709]

They are also associated with royalty like Ensha's Royal Remians set which is how I first figured this out. Examples are the Royal Revenant, Kingsrealm Ruins, and other ruins of fallen castles such as the Lunar estates. The lunar estates connection to the moon would help explain how Ranni's mentor the Old Snow Crone had knowledge of the moons magical properties as this is the place where a ton of Revenants can be found, more than usual.

[@tmb379]

They are actually only weak against healing not holy damage. They pretty resistant against it. Exactly like the omen which are also strong against holy damage. There flame effects also look like the omen attacks. They are definitely related in some way

[@Themostlocalguyaround]

Never thought i'd feel bad for these bastards after all the jump scares they gave me, but marakia did these guys dirty.

[@PeachT87]

Late to the party here but I always thought that Godrick the Golden used the Royal Revenants as inspiration for his Grafted Scions. Probably saw how strong and OP they are, and in his infinite Hubris laid claim to their creation as being part of the golden lineage after figuring out they were a curse from Marika. I also believe they are far older than the Radagon era. The wandering Nobles and anyone in the academy has a later- period dress than the Revenants, who looked like they are part of a Dark Age by their dress. As far as we know, Marika has the ability to wield lightning as well because the Divinity of from softgames dictate that lightning is a weapon of the Divine. If Radagon can wield lightning it only makes sense that Marika can as a potential answer as to why their first torso is hollowed out. Also, I'm pretty sure a hammer, like Marika's will make a big hollow like that. This would fit the timeline of when she herself was actually actively partaking in battle.

[@jayemdaewarehouse9027]

They could have died to Death effects as I always felt their twisted bodies resembled the branches which explode from the character when Death is applied. I have no evidence to back that up, just what I assumed based on appearance.

[@corynthius8860]

Until I found out you could nuke them with heal spells I feared these *things* more than almost any other boss. Still, even with a near insta-kill weapon, its tense fighting them

[@JoshuaKennedy-sb3kw]

I feel as if they must have been experiments prior to godricks grafting. Taking Nobel lineage and affixing their limbs to one another before figuring out which he could graft apon himself. Then shunning them throughout the lands between

[@yoitsgiook]

After 5 play throughs I finally started to equip a healing incantation in case I get summoned in an area with these fuckers.

[@wolfiemuse]

5:58 had to rewind that a lot, would love to see names of files like that on screen if possible haha

[@MagnusShot]

I think they might be connected to the crucible, not only they keep sprouting body parts, but like the omen, some of they habilities carry this wraiths with them, if they are not connected to the crucible then I think their curse and the omen one might be connected some how.

[@doomduck9073]

Now I had a strange theory about this, but what if the revenants are a microcosm of Godwyn the Golden? I had this thought when you compared them to those who live in death, and how only the revenants are damaged by healing sorceries. What's interesting is that the healing incantations use holy damage, which also stops someone living in death from reviving. What I think might be happening here is the erdtree itself's power is rejecting them. Technically the grafted scion is pretty comparable, but they don't seem to be all that crazy compared to the revenants. This also makes me believe that this is an unaccounted consequence of grafting. Perhaps when grafted scions have to return to the tree, they cannot and become cursed with an endless existence of just being in pain. That or the revenants themselves are just failed attempts at grafting properly. My theory about them being a microcosm of Godwyn is that their innards are practically ripped out and they are mangled together, all the souls of the people grafted together are probably long gone or barely even their individual selves anymore. The revenant may be an example of people who are dead in the soul, but not the body. Also account for the fact, that Godwyn became a tree for no reason after he died in soul and not body, and the royal revenants tree-like imagery starts to make sense. They can't spread death root like Godwyn, but there is a common theme of cursed beings having yellow flames. This might be why healing them hurts them, because either healing them forces a direct rejection from the erdtree in real-time, or by healing them you just bring their souls back and remind them of the pain of their existence. I wonder if we ever do get to battle Godwyn in his current state, will he take damage from healing incantations?

[@doomduck9073]

Also, this might explain why there are Royal Revenants in Elphael. They might be going to Miquella for help with their curse, or Miquella needs them to figure out a way to save Godwyn

[@frankydota6478]

I always viewed revenants as the sign of a true and proper grafting. The game constantly implies that grafting is related to the erdtree where the very souls were fused together cursing them. Given their pale complexion and the crawling pattern i figured they were old albanaurics that were grafted by the golden order or a demigod into these forms as punishment turning them into a weapon of the order.

[@frankydota6478]

I forgot a bit but that was why i always figured they were in the haeligtree as they are just another set of albanaurics that are cursed seeking salvation from miquella

[@GhostWolfC35]

Always assumed their additional limbs were brought about by grafting, similar to the grafted scion and Godrick. Perhaps they were previous rulers that were experimented on and tortured?

[@square-table-gaming]

The visual evidence seems to point away from grafting but it is possible!

[@wallyslow]

i always thought the revenants were a mix between the wraithcallers and the pests.

[@MrJomalley123]

these things feel more like bloodborne enemies considering how fucking fast they are

[@viperleviathan9021]

Always excited to see an upload from you guys!! Not only do you produce very high-quality theories with great scripts and editing, you have a great community as well. Keep up the amazing work!!! Edit: I really enjoy this theory, and it makes a disturbing amount of scenes. We know that Marika can be very cruel, and literally disfiguring the nobles to become a twisted mockery of the Erdtree they refused to bow down too is such a fascinating theory. It also technically fits the grafting thing, since grafting is quite literally the splicing of plants.

[@Mortheous]

Great video as always.

[@birdsridingdogs2877]

Aren’t there like three different types of revenants, the ones that are basically naked, the ones with bells, and the ones with multiple torsos

[@entrippyZ]

I think they inspired grafting. my theory is that somebody witnessed the power of a revenant and invented grafting trying to imitate it.

[@dantealighieri850]

Lord of the rings. Fellowship of the slap boxing

[@notknightbean]

Genuinely want to know what these unstaggerable horrors are. Probably the enemy I hate the most in this game. Oh and when did the respec happen?

[@square-table-gaming]

About 10 vids back, people were getting bored of the old specs

[@notknightbean]

@@square-table-gaming that is fair enough. I should catch up on some vids.

[@jeepeedurocher]

1:10 Uhmm so not-so-fun fact about bell icon... problem with it is that if users, such as I, ignore their notifications when they get them, algo believes that this is content we are not interested in and so shows it less to us. Like so many of my favorite youtuber have had their videos disappear off my feed and I never knew why lol.

[@saiga3]

I don't think its anything to do with the tree/Marika. They are simply wraith callers but the spirits they called weren't obedient and possessed their body. The yellow smoke emanating from them is like the wraith summons spirits.

[@DJIronChef]

At low level, i absolutely cannot stand this enemy. The one that's a boss by Iji? Eff that guy. The ones in Halig tree? SUPER eff those ones.

[@quirinoguy8665]

When I first encountered one, I didn't think much of it, but apparently, a lot of people are scared of it? All I thought about these guys is that they were annoying to fight and look like cooler grafted Scion, but oh man, the Wormface dudes really scare the shit out of me, I find it strange that I don't find these guys scary at all but when it comes to Wormface? Puts the fear of God in me.