ELDEN RING Lore | The History & Architecture of Stormveil Castle

[@LillyAnarkitty]

If you and Tarnished Archaeologist started a channel together you would be absolutely unstoppable. I'd love to hear the two of you discuss lore.

[@Yaegz05]

TOGETHAAA

[@nickohhh]

YARSSs

[@jarlwhiterun7478]

Nope. He needs to work on his annunciation, pronunciations, speech tempo, not slurring words together, and audio quality. Then they can collab

[@yoitsgiook]

@@jarlwhiterun7478have you listening to the early tarnished archeologist videos? The audio quality on those were subpar. Amazing work, but if you’re gonna nitpick it’s not like TA’s production work was great in the beginning.

[@SmoughTown]

Perfect timing dude. EDIT: Straight up one of my fave lore videos yet. Thank you - super informative

[@LoreHunter]

I do what I can ;)

[@asherroodcreel640]

​@@LoreHunter I know it's a competitive inviorment but comparing notes would help figure things out, which correct me if I'm wrong is why you all started in the first place.

[@LoreHunter]

@@asherroodcreel640 I can't speak for all creators, but a lot of us do talk about what we're doing and compare notes. We still often have different takes, but we chat for sure.

[@Zyvelteas]

"Ahh, Lore Hunter, truest of Content Creators. Lend me thy knowledge, o kindred. Deliver me unto greater entertainment."

[@GehrmansWheelchair]

In terms of Architecture, Stormveil is my favorite fictional castle of all time! The moment when I finally walked into Margit’s boss room during the CNT and looked up at the entrance is forever burned into my brain. Those gilded Machicolations (Those overhanging holes used for throwing objects/shooting at intruders) are sick, and a clear example of how they traded some practicality for a display of luxury. Matter of fact, Stormveil might have the most Machicolations I have ever seen on a castle, which is probably why I love it so damn much. 😂

[@joshmay2944]

MACHICOLATIONS! I also love Stormveil for that reason. It, Volcano Manor and Leyndell are amazing examples of "urban" fantasy level design in modern gaming.

[@muramasa870]

Some holes are formed because of Godwyn's deathroot clealy. Not from the entrance site. But from the left side of a castle

[@GehrmansWheelchair]

@@muramasa870 No, I’m not talking about those holes. I’m talking about the overhanging structures that allow people to shoot arrows/throw objects down at intruders during a siege. Google Machicolations and you’ll see what I’m talking about 🤙 But yeah those massive holes with thorns growing out of them are definitely caused by the Deathroot.

[@BovineIntervention]

Even playing games like World of warcraft or skyrim they can't quite nail the city or castle aspect (I'd say Solitude and the lich kings castle are good) probably due to constraints but I think stormveil absolutely nails the grand scale

[@bisiart]

as a fellow architecture student who's making his final paper about videogames, i can only say thank you! it's so nice to have more people talking about this!

[@aerodynamism5438]

Will we get similar video about Eternal Cities?

[@LoreHunter]

The Eternal Cities are definitely high on my list to tackle

[@Knight_Riku07]

FOREFATHER'S ONE AND ALL! BEAR WITNESS! FOR A NEW VIDEO HAS BEEN POSTED!

[@joshmay2944]

Just want to add how magnificent the musical themes of Stormveil are. They perfectly convey the location's sense of ancient mystery and corrupted power with earthy and solemn tones in hauntingly sparse arrangements. I will never forget my first play thru spending literal days exploring every corner of the castle grounds and unearthing its mysteries. Then on my second play thru I found an area I had completely missed after tens of hours already spent exploring there. Truly masterful level design.

[@BovineIntervention]

Haha u spent days exploring? I ran through because it was so scary actually being in a castle

[@andrewbowen2837]

Something I never thought about until this video is how the throne room was constructed within a graveyard. If those graves were there before construction, it would be a symbolic claim to an ancestral heritage to reinforce the ideology of the Golden order. It's a practice done in a myriad of cultures, where there may be a claim to a mythical lineage that a group reinforces in their social memory by modifying the landscape in such a way to legitimize their own claims. It's also, of course, a way to overwrite a previous history and assert power by a new group who co-opts this lineage into their ideological sphere. I think it's the latter that occurred at Stormveil

[@lordanonimmo7699]

It could also be that the place became a graveyard during the shattering

[@es-rh8oo]

​@@lordanonimmo7699I guess those people must have been special because they got their own headstones. I believe that those who weren't respected or remembered, etc., were just left to rot

[@kae5717]

Interesting point of note... the relief at 23:53 is identical to the one carved in the wooden doors that lead into the Fortified Manor. Dunno if anyone else pointed it out. I was studying the Manor a few days ago, and was delighted and surprised to see the same carving in this video.

[@Wakobear.]

These videos are brilliant, and no one else seems to be doing as thorough architectural breakdowns as you. Can't wait for the video on Leyndell

[@danlet]

There's so much depth to the game for those who have eyes to see! also haha "flying buttresses"

[@sleepyeevee6299]

Big Ass Rotonda, new band name.

[@eonwe5885]

Thanks again Lore Hunter, here is my promised defence of the Tarnished Archaelogist view. The idea is that the there are two different cultures, each with its own range of material characteristics. There is 'High Leyndell' familiar from not just Leyndell but also eg the Grand Lifts: its markers include yellow stone, 'Crucible Sprouting' statues, Erdtree Knight statues, and the the squat, densely branched tree reliefs visible eg on the Erdtree Sanctuary. Then is the 'Saint and Tree' culture, visible eg in Stormveil and the Divine Tower bridges: grey stone, Romanesque architecture, hooded 'Saint' statues with swords and books, veiled 'Libation' statues, and thinner, more sparsely-branched tree reliefs. If the rotunda had been built as an aggressive assertion of Leyndell into Stormveil, would we expect the Leyndell tree reliefs. Instead, we get the alternative tree relief, which plenty of evidence suggests is native to the culture that produced Stromveil: it's also carved into the stone over the castle gate, and, per the previous episode, carved in the stone walls of Morne. It's found beside Saint Statues on the Divine Tower Bridges, the same statues that languish in disrepair at the base of Stormveil, apparently rejected by Godrick. So I think the Rotunda has always more or less what it appears to be (or I so I say) at face value: the keep of Stormveil, and possibly it's historic throne room too. Especially if it's a throne room, it may well have had a sacral character to it. But I think it co-existed with the chapel (and possibly another sacred site below, per TA's processional way theory of the statues there), as Marika's Bedchamber sites beside the Erdtree Sanctuary. As for the chapel itself, I think this too predates the Golden Lineage because it is found at the other Romaesque castles, Sol and Redmane. While they are destinctively gothic structures within their castles, i think they are more congruent with the surrounding styles than they are with Leyndell. Crucially, the other chapels all have black libation statues behind their altars. The Stormveil chapel has such statues outside on its upper levels, but Leyndell style 'Crucible Sprouting' staues behind the altar. I agree with TA that this suggests that the Golden Lineage took over an existing chapel and reshaped it for their own purposes. Some odds and ends. The rotunda features two Erdtree Sprouting statues in niches beside the doorway. These are not carved into the walls, though, and easily added later, as I think were the similar statues in the chapel. The tympanum relief, meanwhile, features several veiled figures involved in the blessing activities, and not a lone, unveiled blesser. This would show an earlier order of Tree Priestesses, whose roles Marika absorbed into her queenship, and not Queen Marika herself, as TA discusses. Finally, I think that the earlier tree reliefs influenced later Erdtree era heraldry. This time of year, after all, illustrates well how the meanings of symbols can shift over time. While TA elaborates his overall Great Tree theory across several videos, most of the points covered in this comment originate in his 'Marika Before the Erdtree' video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5Sohmagm6uNfJI PS: since writing this comment, I have caught up on Tarnished Archaeologist's latest, in which he notes that the trefoil design in the chapel and rotunda is another distinctive feature if the Saint and and Tree culture.

[@LoreHunter]

Yeah, I think it ultimately comes down to how we square the in-game text and the environmental storytelling, and due to the item descriptions mentioned I am not ready to assert that the reliefs are solid proof of depicting something else besides the Erdtree (though possibly at an earlier date). It is something I continue to ponder. I do love TA's thoughts about the Greattree, but in this particular instance our conclusions diverge a bit.

[@eonwe5885]

@@LoreHunter thanks! I am actually working on a multi-part Reddit essay on the Greattree atm. I plan to go over the reliefs in the next part, and discuss the evidence you cite from the armour in the third.

[@joshmay2944]

This is such a well researched and presented video. You have outdone yourself once again, good hunter!

[@coffeeandbonfires]

Excellent Analysis :) Excellently written

[@NaneelQueenOfDarknes]

Castle dour has some vary pushable statues.....and the lovely courtyard for a function of some kind...a wedding would be perfect. ^^

[@Writh811]

I do agree that the persisting degradation of Stormveil is due to the Deathblight but the nature of the damage to the walls are clearly dragon and projectile based. I know that the marred shield seems like it is slam dunk for blaming deathblight alone for the damage but it only refers to mottling and thorns. Mottling refers to blotchy discoloration. If they wanted to account for the holes in the castle with the shield description that would have likely used the term pockmarked which would cover the holes. The truth seems to lie in between. Radahn, dragons of Caelid in tow, attacked and damaged the castle before leaving for reasons (I still think the shot of Morgott on Radahn in the intro is happening at Stormveil). But the unrepaired damages are where deathblight is able to be seen. As you are likely well aware, large outer walls were often not made of solid stone but were often filled with earth to re-enforce them. The earth (dirt) is mottling and sprouting thorns as if the castle were a living thing with infected wounds. Also the damages on the castle line up to well with dragon claws (likely the battle the injured Greyoll) and meteor blasts.

[@hoffi4893]

These videos are so so good. I hope a lot of bigger content creaters push that video like the Tarnished Archaelogist ones(which are also very good). You deserve it. Seems like a lot of work.

[@trevorBbracket]

24:14 this shot of the now-goldlined walls framing the rotunda in prominence is my favourite lil piece of evidence they were both additions from the golden order occupation. nice camerawork ^w^

[@TRACTOOOOOOOOOR]

The architecture of storm veil castle had me looking around all over the castle for interesting stuff. So interesting.

[@puzzleheaded6195]

Love all of this. I’ve been heavily invested in this part of the Lore myself and I believe the answer to the real identity and proper lineage of the Storm is in the Death Lightning description: “ Incantation that channels the power of the ancient dragon Fortissax, now corrupted by Death. Strikes surroundings with a storm of Death lightning. Inflicts Death blight upon foes. Charging extends duration of the storm. It said that this golden lightning was wielded by Godwyn, who befriended Fortissax.“” This golden lightning, which was Godwyn’s trademark is seen wielded by the oldest remnants of the Stormveil culture for example, Commander Niall and the weapon art in the Stormhawk Axe. When you first meet Nepheli, she’s standing over a banished knight with with a very important bit of dialogue: “Be proud. You were a fine warrior. Your only mistake was your choice of master. Let the winds lift you, to a higher place.” This further reinforces Godricks illegitimacy because the original allegiance of banished knights served the Storm Lord and Niall being their commander, manifesting golden lightning, and all the evidence in Castle Sol implicate Godwyn the most with their armor containing dragon symbolism and thorns which Godwyn heavily associated with judging from him founding the dragon cult and the Marred Leather Shield. In his boss fight, Godrick refers to the dragon as a “trueborn heir” and in the Deeproot Depths, the Finger Reader Crone refers to him as “Lord Godwyn - a Scion of the Golden bough” The word bough translates to a main part of a tree or in this case “true lineage”. In the Japanese text, the same npc calls Godwyn the “Prince of Gold”, The true heir to the Seat of the Sun aka Farum Azula(evidence being Destined Death being sealed there, all the skeletal Beastmen using the Sun Realm Shield, and of course the Sun being constantly present.) Godwyn was also the founder of the ancient dragon cult which, judging from the prayer book with the oldest dragon cult incantations being found in Farum Azula with the presence of Deathroot, began there. It reads: Ancient Dragon Prayerbook - “Prayerbook of the capital's ancient dragon cult. A lost tome that never reached the Lands Between. Contains red lightning incantations.” •(Veteran's Armor) “Old armor that has seen many battles. Niall was a lone survivor who commanded spirits to defend his long-passed master. This aging general could not die, nor did he have anywhere to fade away.” •(Veteran’s Prosthesis) “Bladed prosthetic leg enwreathed with the power of lightning, instead attached to the fist. Commander Niall, veteran of Castle Sol, offered this prosthesis in exchange for the lives of defeated knights held prisoner. He went on to lead these men as an army of no nation.” Given that Godwyn is the only demigod that fits the description of “long passed”, founded the dragon cult, all the evidence in Castle Sol, and wielded the same Lightning as Niall who lead the banished knights, Who else would Niall and the banished knights originally have had an allegiance to? I’d highly recommend Tarnished’s Archeologists video on Godfrey and the crucible. It shows there is strong evidence that he was not the original master of the Fortified Manor, meaning the Stormveil Architecture had to have been made before his time. Also given the evidence that Godwyn founded the dragon cult who all likely began with Placidusax with Godwyn’s Golden Lightning seen in the background of his arena in the “true storm”. This I believe is the reason you see a storm start to weather again in the Duskborn ending because Godwyn is resurrected. The Stormhawk King was likely serving as regent to the hawks, similar to Serosh and his title of “lord of beasts”. Nepheli’s dialogue of “my first hawk” reinforces this and the Stormhawk King heeding summons to anyone. I think that tells us the Stormhawks were meant to be companions to the old clan and explain why they’ve had their talons repurposed. Edit: Cut content is cut content, but another thing that reinforces this is the road that stretches from Stormveil to Castle More was originally named after Godwyn judging from these texts - "Letter addressed to someone: Confirmed traces of silvery slime in the ruins in front of Stormgate." "Letter addressed to someone: Traces of silvery slime found on Godwyn's Highroad. Just after until the procession with the big coffin passed by."

[@nightscout9979]

How would Godrick be illegitimate if Godwyn was once in charge of Stormveil Castle? Godrick is from the same family, and might even be directly descended from Godwyn. Also, sorry if I inferred incorrectly, but are you implying that Godwyn was the Storm Lord? If so, why would he be in a military conflict with the Golden Order? Why would nothing imply he had a falling out with Leyndell and his parents?

[@puzzleheaded6195]

@@nightscout9979 It’s because of Kenneth’s dialogue where he specifically calls Godrick a usurper. Kenneth is a reliable source because he’s nobility and even he doesn’t acknowledge Godrick’s claim. There is a reason for that unless he’s specifically a descendent of the right lineage. I have my own thoughts about Godwyn and his role in the story but they go against a lot of what seems to be a consensus made very early in the games release. Personally, I believe he embodied the Golden Order and originally ruled in the Fortified Manor/Stormveil before it was usurped from him and Radagon is the key to all of it. Godwyn in a lot of ways embodies the Nameless King in DS3 with his association with the Storm, Lightning, siding with the Ancient Dragons etc. It’s still a working theory but I believe the “unwanted child” dialogue and why he was targeted in the NOTBK was because he chose to align with the Ancient Dragons to begin with, just like the Nameless King. These two items in particular have many parallels to each other and they both manifest the Storm: Serpent Hunter: “ Weapon that serves as both greatsword and spear. Thought to have been used to hunt an immortal great serpent in the distant past, it manifests a long blade of light when facing such a creature. When their master's heroic aspirations degenerated into mere greed, his men searched for a weapon with which they might halt their lord.” Dragonslayer Greatspear: “A dragon hunting weapon from the age of the gods. The earliest form of the cross spear, serving as both a sword and a spear. Its owner was the Nameless King, a deific hunter of dragons. The swordspear is imbued with lightning, of which he was the heir.” The reason the identity of the Storm Lord is so very important Imo is because in the Stormcaller Church, there’s Godwyn related items to be found and a statue of Radagon with blonde hair. Radagon has some strange connections to Godwyn 1)He uses Golden Bolts/Spears and uses the Storm Stomp AOW 2)It can’t be a coincidence he looks exactly like Godwyn in the Story Trailer 3)He hates his “red” hair, probably because it used to be a different color judging his statues 4)The thorns that manifest hand in hand with the mottling in Stormveil can also be seen blocking the entrance to the Erdtree. Again, it’s very difficult to draw cohesive conclusions and I can only base assumptions on in-game evidence but I believe it all links to the “Hero of Morne” plot.

[@nightscout9979]

@@puzzleheaded6195 Godrick is likely a usurper because he waged a greed-driven war against his fellow member of the Golden Lineage, King Morgott, in an attempt to conquer Leyndell and reign over the land. Stormveil is presumably supposed to be a territory of the Golden Order nation, so Godrick, after betraying Morgott, is likely usurping the distant castle as well, even if other conflicts in the Shattering may have left the castle largely unoccupied before Godrick took it over. With that in mind, Godrick both tried to usurp the throne of the nation and is currently usurping control over a castle under the nation's control. We also have no reason to believe that Radagon took Godwyn's home whatsoever. Furthermore, judging from the item description for Tiche's Spirit Ashes, Godwyn was murdered in Leyndell, implying that he lived there. Additionally, if Marika was angry at Godwyn for befriending the ancient dragons, it would be uncharacteristic for her to not simply refuse a peace agreement of any kind. We know that Marika is willing to make a species go extinct, as seen with the Fire Giants, and she'll likewise wipe out clans, as happened to the hero of Castle Morne. The Crucible Knights were also eventually mistreated and shunned on Marika's watch, so Marika is hardly someone who'd refuse to press onward with whatever she personally felt about something, even if she was turning against her own earnest allies. As for the "unwanted child" dialogue, based on how the victims of the Night of the Black Knives are seen in the Lands Between, the "unwanted" part is probably about the current state of the victims, not about the people before their souls were destroyed and the Death Blight was a risk. Furthermore, the lightning incantations are still widely used by Leyndell's military, so there doesn't seem to have been an intention to phase those out starting with Godwyn's death. In fact, Kristoph and Vyke serve as great examples for the lightning arts not being stigmatized. Kristoph's Spirit Ashes reveal that he was greatly honored for capturing the traitorous Godefroy, and the lightning-wielding Vyke was even seen as a possible candidate to be the next Elden Lord. Vyke also seems to have been a viable Elden Lord in the time when Leyndell supported the Tarnished and let them use the Fortified Manor, so this wouldn't be a case of Vyke merely being a sort of wandering folk hero unsupported by the Golden Order. We have no reason to believe that anyone in Leyndell, or anyone who tried to usurp Leyndell for that matter, thought that Morgott supporting Vyke in this era was disturbing or controversial. Based on this lack of discomfort, there probably weren't any misgivings about being friends with the dragons after the Ancient Dragon War. Radagon's move set likely indicates that Leyndell could use projectile spear incantations and explosive stakes of its own before encountering the dragons. The lightning arts were probably just incorporated into the preexisting arts over time, hence why the lightning is gold and why the ancient dragons cannot use their red lightning in the same ways that the gold is utilized. Additionally, the Elden Beast also uses golden projectile spears for some of its attacks, so Marika may have learned these techniques from the Elden Beast and taught them to her armies. Radagon doesn't use Storm Stomp, he just does a stomp that makes energy erupt, and any resemblance to Godwyn is probably just because he's a male version of Marika, Godwyn's mother. Radagon and Godwyn are not identical, and would not be even if Radagon's hair was blonde. We can also compare Radagon's face, seen in a painting copied throughout the Fortifed Manor and Roundtable Hold, to Godwyn's face in the story trailer. As for the thorns, Radagon is trying to make the Erdtree seal itself, and he's probably getting help from the Elden Beast. In contrast, the Deathroot is simply Death Blight spreading through the roots of the Erdtree in various places, ultimately making the Erdtree the shared factor rather than the individuals having a certain trait. While Godwyn's friendship with Fortissax is reminiscent of the Nameless King seeking to work alongside Dark Souls' dragons, I believe that the comparisons end there. The Serpent Hunter also seems to be from a foreign land and snakes apparently have no presence in the Stormveil area or its history at all. Additionally, Godwyn likely didn't use the golden lightning when he was fighting the dragons in the war, whereas the Nameless King could already use lightning. Stormveil seems tied to the story of Godfrey, not Godwyn, to boot, and parts of its culture were even adopted by Godfrey's warriors who were later banished when they became Tarnished, hence Nepheli's axes and mention of raising a hawk. Stormveil's history and the embracing of it by people who look up to Godfrey are interesting, as though a respectful assimilation occurred. However, I don't think Godwyn was ever the Storm Lord, nor was he in conflict with his own nation or disliked by Radagon.

[@KosOrSomeSayKosmo]

The mottled holes and thorny vines tearing apart Stormveil definitely originate from Godwyn, but there are additional signs of damage much more reminiscent of giant claw marks, especially noticeable on the rotunda. Any ideas of where they came from?

[@nightscout9979]

Perhaps those are actually sword marks, and Radahn once sieged Stormveil personally? That could also explain the round holes, as Radahn may have launched tremendous arrows or used his version of Rock Sling. Alternatively, the castle was conquered by Godfrey then attacked by the Stormhawk King, who may have been a massive bird.

[@LillyAnarkitty]

The deathblight and thorns don't look remotely like they're causing the damage to the stone walls to me. However the idea that Godwyn's corpse caused the ground to collapse in places seems very likely. The only part I quibble with is the idea that he "sunk" under Stormveil, since he was buried under Leyndell and we can still find his corpse under the Erdtree. So it seems to me more like the thing under Stormveil is emerging from the ground, coming up from the root system through which Godwyn's curse is spreading. His emergence there and the ensuing deathblight is probably causing ground to sink above him. Could it be possible that the flying buttresses are just what's left from a structural collapse in that spot? Some of them are broken and since they are structural pieces maybe it would make some sense that they would hold up?

[@LoreHunter]

If it weren't for the marred shields I would be more skeptical about what caused the damage, but it makes a pretty direct comparison of the mottling and thorns to the shield, and that the source is the same. In either case, it seems to be a debate by the inhabitants of what curse, grafting or something else, is afflicting them and causing the damage. I think we agree on how Godwyn got there, that following the root system caused the collapse.

[@Midnitethorn]

Another amazing video! Please keep making these. I'd love to see you cover other locations like this!

[@minerman60101]

I'm a huge fan of the idea that Godrick built all the golden embellishments, I think I heard Ratatoskr posit that one first. I definitely look forward to more videos in this series, seeing all of the legacy dungeons and even stuff like catacombs will be cool. I'm looking forward to Crumbling Farum Azula the most as I think that place is hiding a lot from us, especially with how it's decayed.

[@andrewgrunde-mclaughlin4145]

Great stuff!

[@classica1fungus]

I really hope we learn more about the storm lord at some point, all that seems so interesting and unique

[@leek5682]

Dude going into minuscule detail about the positioning of a brick in a wall and trying to draw conclusions about the story when the art director was like “use different size bricks, it will look like we didn’t copy paste”

[@LoreHunter]

Lol, you’re not totally wrong, there is the practical consideration of making a game. However, From (and many other devs) do pull pretty specifically from real life buildings to achieve a certain look, and (likely both intentional and unintentional) bring along with those references a certain history and culture.

[@leek5682]

@@LoreHunter didn’t mean any disrespect, nice video

[@LoreHunter]

@@leek5682 No disrespect taken! I found it funny because those sort of thoughts certainly cross my mind at times 🤣

[@vanessaboyko1582]

Glad I stumbled upon your channel! Awesome video! Curious to know what you think about the statues of “Marika” in the Chapel in Stormveil. The exact same statues are in the Chapel of Anticipation. They are also in the Fringefolk Hero’s Grave; however, the same statues in the Fringefolk Hero’s grave all have their arms/hands pouring their blessings cut off. It’s for this reason I’m not convinced the statues are Marika, but may pre-date her and are part of the evidence pointing to your Golden Order-rewriting-history theory. They don’t resemble any other statue of Marika save the talisman. Maybe this is not an architectural thing, but an archaeological one, would be curious about your thoughts, nonetheless. Again, great video! Thanks for sharing!

[@RazorOfArtorias]

This video series is amazing, great job! Raya Lucaria is my favorite legacy dungeon, it's far on the video list? And about those weird flying buttresses my guess is they were cool to walk on - like on Anor Londo - creating the level blockout and the envito team decided to use buttresses. But it's true that some wood support structures fit better on the level, specially on that section were they built a path to the bottom. To me the access to the bottom seems less polished (that long ladder...) that the other parts of the castle so maybe was just a rushed enviro pass for a last-minute addition of the corpse.

[@RockingTheFro]

I was just exploring Stormveil in a randomizer run and I had the exact same theory about Godwyn causing the damage to the castle. So it's very cool to hear a respected Loracle with the same theory!

[@kchurchjr]

This was AMAZING! I love the in depth analysis. I'd listen/watch you cover all fromsoft games

[@BrettUren]

Could the Stormlord not be a reference directly to Dragonlord Placidusax? Explains why now the storm does not rage as once it did around Stormveil - and Godrick's cutscene taking the dragon's head could be a subtle nod to Godfrey's defeat of the Dragonlord, who is missing a head as implication of his defeat.

[@LoreHunter]

That is what Last Protagonist suggests in their video and I think its a compelling idea.

[@BrettUren]

@@LoreHunter means that perhaps Serosh was at least maybe inherited from the Dragonlord, as a political relationship with the victor out of convenience? The architecture of Stormveil and Faram isn’t the same - but then Muslim buildings/temples in the Middle East differ from those that were built in Spain.

[@jhit2026]

I appreciate the unique take. Thanks

[@roninkahn4033]

I'm pretty sure rhe storm lord is placidusax as the storm knights remained in farum azula and the castle is modeled after rhe ancient dragons who were grey mostly with gold tints over them.

[@Adelesprings]

Excellent video, this takes me back to my architecture classes 😂 I do think you're right about the erdtree iconography, but not so much with the ground sinking below the castle, as the walls go a long way down! I think it's more like an ancient layer of building used as foundation, and if I recall correctly that's what Tarnished archeologist says in one of his videos. If I recall anything from my art history teacher, is that form follows function. The rotunda in Stormveil is the throne of God Rick, but round structures are also used to collect the amber tears of the ears tree, I assume the Stormveil rotunda could be the place where Marika, symbolically, brings the blessing of the erdtree which is also implied in the iconography. Other seats of power in the lands between under the golden order are circular too, I. Reference to the Elden Ring : Marika' bedchamber, inside the erdtree, the roundtable, the divine towers, Leyndell, Elphael, which are the ones I remember off the top of my head.

[@LoreHunter]

Thanks! I did consider the walls, and yet the shape around those walls is very haphazard, and could be a mix of walls going deep for the basic function of supporting the wall, but also as a means to keep it secure as ground gives way. I just don't see Godrick's arena functionally being made as it is seen, it's an odd space. Form follows function indeed (although of course that is a modern concept, but many forms of older architecture naturally adhered to it)! Good idea about the round shape of many of those buildings, I like that. In a world where trees are sacred it does make some sense.

[@leohirtsche8341]

Thanks for the video, great work. I relly like how you include the findungs of the other lore hunters. But also one thing to note: For me it seemed as if Stromveil wasn't the castle of godrick most of the time, but other members of the golden lineage, especially Godefroy. We know from Knight Kristoffs ash, that Godefrey may be the first main aggressor in the shattering war, as he attacked Lyndell an its "first defense". The attack on Lyndell from Godefroy seems also be shown in the intro, as the forces attacking Lyndell in that video wear stromveil inisgnia (green and red), and it seems a fitting starting point of showing us the shattering war. We know from Morgoth Cutscene, that Godfrey was in Lyndell at the beginning of the Shattering war era and he only left Lyndell due to an attack (maybe godefroys but thats not explicitly stated). At the time of him in Lyndell his "chair" shown in the Morgoth Cutscene is rather small and considering the way carfting is descriped as something bad, he most likely wasn't even grafted himself. So after his escaping the city of Lyndell he claimed Stromveil were he later started crafting himself. He then hide himself there from Rhadan, and returned after his defeat by Malenia, as Keneth Haight tells us also. Maybe this two behaviors are due to the crafting process, were with rhadan he didn't consider himself strong enough, but after some grafting got out to try Malenia, but lost miserably. As the Ornamental Straight Sword tells us the golden linage had exactly the longig for the past, as you discriped in your video. It fits pretty well. So I agree on your analysis mostly, but IMO the one reshaping Stotmveil were mostly other members of that linage and not specifically Godrick.

[@LoreHunter]

Good insights, I think you make a good case that it could have been Godefroy or another of the golden lineage who did some of the renovating. That being said, Godrick has supposedly had 5000 years to mess around with the place, which might just be enough time for all of that detailed work 😂

[@leohirtsche8341]

@@LoreHunter Thanks a lot. But now im curios, were does the 5000 years come from? I can't remember to be given timeframes ingame.

[@LoreHunter]

@@leohirtsche8341 It shouldn't be taken as gospel by any means, but it was a number stated by GRRM in an interview. I think its because of his role in development and no other timeframe given that this number is taken to be most likely, even though that timeframe is pretty nuts.

[@shexovehxnr284]

Thank you Jawsh

[@monsterbox6]

Very cool analysis!

[@shmackydoo]

Love your philosophy on architecture!

[@jamB2007]

Dude I love your channel and am glad I found it! The only and only thing I would say is to just see if you can get a better microphone. It’s a bit hard to listen to but I loved this video and the references to skyrim

[@LoreHunter]

I appreciate that man, and thanks for the feedback 👍

[@adamyohan]

Excellent video. Great work.

[@thestralner6335]

just want to point out that the area beneath stormveil wouldve been a catacomb for erdtree burials at one point. you can see dead bodies on floating funeral beds in the water, and theres an ulcerated tree spirit which is pretty common around the end of catacombs. presumably, where godwyns effigy is now, there would have been a big erdtree root knurl like the other catacombs. makes sense since godwyn's corruption transmits through the erdtree roots. clearly the area is in disarray but i imagine the area saw much use prior to that area falling apart. the buttresses don't have to be just cuz

[@LoreHunter]

That’s an interesting idea thanks for sharing! It doesn’t quite explain the buttresses even then though, as the space still has issues and in the strange scenario that they were using buttresses to structurally hold back earth instead of a retaining wall, there are far too few of them to support the fissure. Thank you for sharing, that’s a really good idea for the potential use of that space.

[@thestralner6335]

@@LoreHunter gotcha, its definitely still perplexing. unsure whether the area would have been underground or not in the past

[@ABrickinTime]

Personally I think that the storm lord ruled the hill on which the castle stands today (if we subscribe to the belief that the storm lord was an eagle) and that the castle was built after they were defeated. I think there was a painting that you can find with no castle present.

[@MartinHindenes]

18:02 these look very much like clawmarks from a giant dragon - not unlikely, as wars were fought with the Dragon Lords in the past. Adding to this: Godwyn was known for taming dragons in his glory days when he was still alive, and his cursed body now rests beneath this castle.

[@LoreHunter]

Its a possibility, although the scale of those as clawmarks is very large in that case. The most compelling argument against that for me is that the marred shield offers up the damage to the castle as a curse for grafting or something else beneath the castle, and there is otherwise no mention of dragons attacking, let alone one on the scale of Gransax. However, there is obviously a slain dragon in the arena, so I think it is within the realm of possibility.

[@dznqbit]

Dude is that harpsichord Radiohead at the end? Great video

[@eonwe5885]

Thank you Lore Hunter, I've got round to this at last! I really appreciate both the shout out and the answer. That sounds pretty plausible to me, and supports my main intuition is, which is that the ornamentation is in a modern style which reflects Godrick's influence, as you aptly describe. I'll think about it some more and might write again in defence of Tarnished Archaeologist's views.

[@lucaslugarinho6634]

great video! although I think stormveils ornamentation, that you attribute to Godrick, probably dates back to the original storm lord era. To me the castle itself is stylized to look like a birds nest, and thats what these ornaments try to inform: an abandoned hawk's nest upon a stormy hill.

[@LoreHunter]

That's a cool idea! Ironically, the architecture ends up being a deterrent to some degree, but I like that idea.

[@revenant097]

Great stuff

[@jakubchalupa8510]

Imagine if you defeated Morgott without killing Godfrey and he then appears with his army trying to take Leyndell

[@beansnrice321]

The buttresses are clearly just game design for game design. Miyazaki has explicitly said in past interview that he wanted the character to run across rooftops and architecture and I unfortunately think he just wanted some buttresses.

[@TeoReviews]

Fucking RAD! I'm surprised you didn't mention the are where the Crucible Knight is, off the part by the birds with bombs? It's kinda strange but lol this was a fantastic watch!

[@minespatch]

"Mystery of the storm lord" ... The silhouette 😏

[@ilcorvo9559]

I like the rather sinister idea that Godwyn is coming to reclaim the rune (which was presumably once his) from Godrick. Though I can’t remember the timeline; did the queen shatter the ring after Godrick died? Either way he could still have claim to it.

[@iHaveTheDocuments]

Stomveil is an awesome place.

[@virtem7686]

I like the video I didn't realise that whatever is eating stormveil was extened enough to create the abysses under it. Three thoughts. First is that the mention of the tarnished archeologist was a surprise, but what I understood of him is that the greattree is the erdtree, he doesn't think otherways, just a step on it's life cycle greattree > crucible > greattree > crucible, however he concider that the erdtree died at somepoint during marika rules and is only a ghost now, which is why he make emphasis of the differences of reliefs, the greattree are depiction of the erdtree when wasn't a stump Second, an explication of the strange location of the archs is that they may predate the walls, leftovers, at simple view may be weird but if you concider that stormveil is built over an older settlement it makes more sense, outside that side of the wall are ruins where is a crucible knight and seem to emply that erosion has destroy the original extend of the mountain. Third, I was expecting you mention the presence of graveyards in stormveil, because they aren't propper of the erdtree belief (primary because they make erdtree burials instead), them being outside (north and south) and inside emplied that who ever lived there before didn't believe on the erdtree, probably in the twinbird instead, but I guess that makes sense concidering the video is more focused on the architecture

[@LoreHunter]

I wish I’d gone a bit into the graveyard and the burial practices seen there because it is interesting. As for the ruins outside of Stormveil proper with the Crucible knight, perhaps I should have mentioned those because they’re actually the newer gothic architecture, indicating that it likely was built after and are ruins of a newer structure, not older.

[@virtem7686]

@@LoreHunter good point that is gothic is a later architecture design, however being fiction things can and will deffer of our world. Farum Azula is the main example of it concidering is from ancient times falling apart despite it's not that ancient architecture. If one look the leyndell architecture, the capital city and the churches of marika, being leyndell the power projector over limgrave and it would be strange that they wouldn't follow that current too. In the otherway liurnia have their own architecture current, raya lucaria and manus celes, and the church of vow weird mix architecture design seems to point that gothic is an older style. Concidering that stormveil is the fronteir of limegrave, it wouldn't be strange that before leyndell arrived they followed the same style that liurnia.

[@TroyColey]

Thank you for your hard work, we all appreciate it. Your an amazing, wonderful, incredible, and awesome person. ☺️😊😄😃🤩😍

[@aphidamas1]

I'm not convinced that the thorny damage to Stormveil is from Godwyn. The pockmark-like damage, with it's carbon scoring and melted rock, looks like the castle was attacked with extremely hot ordinance. The thorny branches, which don't match with Godwyn's branches, seem to have grown from the various craters after impact, not the other way around. Also, if this damage is sourced from Godwyn, why would the stone have impact craters and slashed gashes? I don't know what created the damage but my mind goes to Blood Star sorcery. It features lots of thorned branches and... stars are pretty hot?

[@nothisispatrick6528]

Wouldn’t Godrick and Morgott both be the last members of the golden lineage? I thought the omen twins where both born from Godfrey and Marika or am I mistaken.

[@LoreHunter]

Morgott and Mogh are believed to be Godfrey and Marika's children, but as Omen I don't think they are considered legitimate in terms of family tree and succession.

[@FoxBatinaHat]

I thought Stormveil was somewhat Byzantine.

[@LoreHunter]

Agreed, I noticed that in the Corinthian style capitals. Romanesque architecture is primarily Late Roman/Byzantine in its roots, but generally heavier and without the strict ordering of Roman styles.

[@minespatch]

Will you tackle ps3's Tower of Latria from Demon's? That place was really beautiful but I don't think people will actually appreciate the ps3 version unless they experience the ps3 version in itself.

[@cornthdl]

You skipped the chapel? Bummer. It's one of the elements that ties it to the other castles and manors together showing evidence of the ancient kingdom stretching across the Lands Between. I'm sad meow.

[@LoreHunter]

When it comes to connective elements I have some plans for videos about those elements. I need to examine it myself however because I believe that the church in Stormveil is newer than the surrounding castle, which might still align with that theory, but I'm not sure.

[@cornthdl]

Good stuff. The chapels, vine pattern reliefs, and “Great/Erd Tree reliefs that are present in all castles/manors/Bestial Sanctum keep me up at night.

[@fflipfflop]

Agreed! The identical chapels in Stormveil, Redmane Castle, and Castle Sol have been driving me nuts!

[@Coast2CoastFlyin]

Given the number of parallels between ER lore and real world history, and Leyndell's obvious allusion to Roman/Byzantine architecture (among others), I think its reasonable to make the speculative claim that Leyndell predates Marika. Marika represents the advent of and rapid spread/domination of Abrahamic religions, particularly after the Roman conversion, and then 300ish years later with the emergence of Islam. Much like how Rome predates Christianity by something like 1000 years, and Christ himself by around 700 years, its very likely that Leyndell existed long before Marika and the religion that put her at its center existed. Many of the architectural features paying homage to her and/or the Golden Order, such as the golden roofs of Leyndell, the reliefs of Marika bestowing blessings etc could easily be additions/modifications done during her reign, in the same way that all the Christian structures and art in Rome were added to the existing city. The other thing I want to point out is if you look at the Erdtree relief depicted on Marika's bedchamber, and compare it to the one on the rotunda and elsewhere. Notice how its literally a completely different tree. Regardless of what theory you subscribe to regarding this obvious discrepancy, its obvious that at some point in time, the Erdtree somehow morphed from a coniferous/evergreen tree into the deciduous tree we have all come to know and love. Personally I am leaning towards the idea that the real Erdtree has essentially become host to a parasitic woody vine that has all but completely subsumed the Erdtree and formed its own tree-like structure, somewhat like a trumpet creeper (a red-flowered vine known as Campsis Radicans, which may or may not be a massive coincidence) or other similar types of "trees." If you google it, you may notice that these kinds of woody vine trees look very similar to minor Erdtrees, among others, although at least in the case of the small normal trees there are true trees that look similar. The minor Erdtrees absolutely have vines growing up their trunks though, as we can see the reddish leaves at the base, and some dead branches poking out here and there

[@TheHogfatherInvades]

I am the lord, my gold is delicious

[@TroyColey]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@Nirioonossian]

The pyramids? Romanesque. Angkor wat? Romanesque. Taj Mahal? Romanesque. The colloseum? Romanesque. Burj Khalifa? Romanesque. The local mcdonald's? Obviously romanesque. Starbucks cup? A pillar of roman style. My decrepit house? What else could it be, it's clearly romanesque with brutalist windows.

[@LoreHunter]

This comment physically pains me.

[@Nirioonossian]

@@LoreHunter Sorry about that 😅 I'm just being silly. Your videos are great.

[@LoreHunter]

It’s all good 😅 it does drive home a point about the games where, although there is variety, if I was exhaustive in covering locations in Elden Ring it would basically be this but like 50/50 with gothic 😂

[@nottwo]

Why do you keep insisting those reliefs and statues depict Marika? She’s never depicted as wearing a head covering like that.

[@LoreHunter]

I explained why in the video. Marika is depicted in a few different ways in the game, and this very well could be one of them.

[@nottwo]

@@LoreHunter the depiction of her you used did not wear a hood. Isn’t it more likely that was a general depiction of the Numen in general or something like that?

[@LoreHunter]

@@nottwo Its certainly possible, but seen in places of worship or power, combined with the implication of the talisman that the presentation of libations are blessings being bestowed, I am inclined to believe it is Marika. It could be a depiction of a priestess or someone else bestowing blessings, but there isn't the textual support there to suggest that in the same way that there is with Marika. In either case, I think that the assertion of those statues being aligned with blessings of the Erdtree adds up.

[@jeremiahwesley837]

Dude you lost me a Skyrim

[@bidoofftw]

This is wrong. Aliens built Stormveil Castle

[@dangerousfables]

Geoff sent me. Great work, subbed.