ELDEN RING LORE: The Mysteries of Miquella

Miquella is a child, a demigod, an Empyrean, a female saint, a half-formed tree person, and a dessicated man in a cocoon. I attempt to explain some of this.
00:00 - Intro
00:55 - Born From a Single God
05:47 - Shadows of Empyreans
07:06 - The Coming Age
10:13 - Needles, Rot, and Fate
15:43 - Let Us Both Be Shattered
17:12 - Miquella's Great Rune
19:13 - Metamorphosis
21:02 - Berserk
26:16 - St. Trina
29:27 - Albinaurics
31:29 - Dark Souls 3
35:46 - Soulless Demigods
38:05 - The Sun and the Sea
40:22 - DLC
41:56 - Outro
--
Patreon: / crunchymunchy
Twitter: @MrEldenThing
Discord: Crunchy# 1205
Streams & Extras: / @munchy7996
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[@CrunchyVideos]

Update: Berserk will be completed! Kouji Mori, along with Miura’s other apprentices, will be finishing the manga according to Miura’s drafts and conception. Praise the sun! twitter.com/berserk_project/status/1534023434174627840?s=21&t=Jhfri-6Awa4bjWWgnHCtKw

[@marinribaric9749]

I wish them luck and that they make him proud.

[@j4nk3n]

All day iv been looking into the friendship of miura and mori, and I think miura would have given his blessing, some won't accept anything less than the pen of miura himself but if anyone has even the tiniest chance of producing as close to miura as possible it's him, its his friends legacy and I doubt a single panel will go out without that In mind!

[@CrunchyVideos]

@@j4nk3n Agreed. Even if it’s not ‘true Berserk’ it will be interesting to get a taste of where Miura wanted to go, and I think Mori will do a wonderful job respecting Miura’s legacy.

[@j4nk3n]

@@CrunchyVideos I'm sure everyone involved will try their hardest, now all I need to do is have my annual berserk recap and I'm all set!

[@paulroche7588]

This is amazing news!!!! Looks like my Berserk Volumes are about to get some new roommates on the shelf

[@marinribaric9749]

In the video you mentioned how Malenia and Miquella were both flawed because they are both "half a person" having been shattered from Radagon and Marika and how there are the Aeonian Butterflies and Nascant Butterflies associated with the former two. Though I think they might be even less than "half a person" since there is a third type of butterfly: the Smoldering Butterflies. this suggests there is a third sibling from this union and because the smoldering butterflies' description and her dialogue it is implied that Melina is the third sibling. Furthermore, one could interpret her brown hair as a mix of Radagon's red hair and Marika's blonde.

[@damianford2637]

this is a good point because i think it was confirmed melina is marikas daughter, but she wasn't born a normal way.

[@ythandlename]

There are twins who are also born of one soul with two minds/bodies. I believe D's affliction of being twins who share the same soul is both ironic and intriguing that Radagon and Marika are two minds but one changing body so they're should've been reviled as accursed beings like the D twins except they were worshiped. There is a lot of twins and different identities being few of the main themes of the game. Bosses and NPCs, even the player can change identity or have a dual persona. Twins are frequently depicted in the game as bosses or lore. Two is a special number in this game serving as a sorta indication of 'equilibrium.' Two Fingers, twins or two identities. When twins are separate, they try to find each other or if one ends up dying, the other one suffers.

[@marinribaric9749]

@@ythandlename Interesting points you brought up. I appreciate the feedback. Tho to the point about the D twins being reviled while Marika and Radagon being worshiped, remember that Radagon's true connection to Marika was kept a secret to everyone but a select few. So the general public would be unaware. Then there are questions such as: Were they always conjoined? Have they always shared the same body? Were separate at any prior point in time?

[@ythandlename]

@@marinribaric9749 I think the story is less confusing to think Marika and Radagon are much like D's. They are separate personalities and different bodies at one point until they merged after Radagon separates from Rennala.

[@marinribaric9749]

@@ythandlename That is my personal belief for that segment of their history as well. However, what about before the war with the Carians? Did they always share a soul like the D brothers? There is a very large portion of history that doesn't mention Radagon. Was Marika just keeping him in storage or was he not born yet?

[@vorake]

I think the reason the unnamed demigods don't have growths like Godwyn is because they died in both body and soul.

[@thefoxamongwolves9843]

Those crispy bodies don't look very alive. We know that the demigods can transform and such. Godrick's grafting and Rykard's snake vore thing. So maybe with no soul Godwyn's body just... started morphing, something it could always do but he never chose to.

[@aydincastro1924]

They don't grow deathblight root because they are always moving inside the walking mausoleums one of the ghosts described them as soulless which means they would behave the same as Godwyn. But Godwyn as can be seen and is specified in item descriptions was buried beneath the erdtree.

[@NickCombs]

@@aydincastro1924 Yep, the severing of the head might also be important since much of the power in the LB seems to arise from the mind. A great rune can make someone a god-like being, able to craft the world anew if it doesn't drive them mad first. And what is a great rune other than a crystallized idea? So without a brain to hijack, the deathblight might have much less use for entombed remains that are unable to absorb or transform runes.

[@alexspain9103]

In the battle of Aeonia, "Malenia fought to a standstill." The items relating to the blue fairy and the blind swordsman relate stillness with stagnation and rot, and the waterfowl dance is described as warding away the Scarlet Rot, so I wonder if the fact that she was forced to a "standstill" is what allowed her to bloom.

[@CrunchyVideos]

This is a really good observation.

[@alexspain9103]

@@CrunchyVideos thanks

[@creditianistani6474]

so Malenia's constant war campaign and victories are to prevent herself from blooming? as to be constantly in the flow

[@marinribaric9749]

I just had an idea of why Malenia would go down to Caelid and fight Radhan. The spirits and items in Fort Sol connect Miquella to Godwyn. A solar eclipse is part of Miquella's plan and is required to help Godwyn. Starcourge Radhan holds the heavenly and by extent fate in place. In order to get an eclipse you need the moon to move infront of the sun. So what if Malenia was sent to kill Radhan so this part of Miquella's plan can happen. Meanwhile, while Malenia was away, Mogh snuk in and snatched Miquella away. Also isn't the placememt of the teleporter to the Moghwyn Dynasty a bit peculiar? In the same general area as the teleporter to the Haligtree. Mogh might have used for a quick gataway.

[@gooncave7905]

Radahn is the STARscourge. It specifically says he holds back the stars and thus fate. The game makes a very clear difference between the moon and the stars hence the Carians and Raya Lucaria dynamic. The carians supposedly captivated the academy with its moon and the Conspectus’s of the academy studies the stars. This only pokes one hole in your idea though, which is the eclipse part. I really like the idea that Melania fought Radahn to release the stars and fate so that Miquella may be rebirthed and attain godhood

[@EA_Kar]

@@gooncave7905 could be Radahn reined in the sun(=star) along with the rest of the stars, instead of having any power over the moons?

[@gooncave7905]

@@EA_Kar seemingly the sun is different to a star within this universe, as the day/night cycle is a thing. Which is another reason why Radahn hasn’t seized the moon, since it’s able to rotate around the planet (assuming it exists within a similar space to Earth, which is implied by the way the time is displayed on the map)

[@marinribaric9749]

@Furkan who even said that "the Elden ring = the sun"? The Haligtree isn't an exactly easy place to locate and gain access to. And maybe Miquella just didn't expect Mogh sneak in, bypass everything defending him.

[@marinribaric9749]

@@gooncave7905 Radahn's moniker does not necessarily mean that he didn't hold the moon in place too. But what you mentioned about the Carians and Raya Lucaria and upon rereading the descriptions on items from Raya Lucaria, the Moon in of itself might be an Outer God. Therefore out of Radahn's league. Tho he might also have prevented the Moon from achieving an eclipse indirectly or at least that fated event by holding back the Stars, but that's a bit of a stretch.

[@justinsheppard7445]

The great rune of the unborn is used to perfect the birth of demigods. The reason Morgott and Mohg were born cursed under Marika and Godfrey was because of the lack of the great rune, which Radagon had. Radahn, Ranni, and Rykard had no curses upon being born. Possibly the reason behind Miquella and Malenia’s curses are because of the Radagon leaving the great rune of the unborn with Renalla, and then the reason the tarnished suffers no I’ll effects of rebirth is because of their possession of the great rune.

[@CrunchyVideos]

Excellent clarification.

[@hatefulgaming1800]

Why was Godwynn born normal than?

[@justinsheppard7445]

@@hatefulgaming1800 I don’t think he was. It’s a huge reach but maybe his curse was his fate after he died? The game makes reference to other unnamed “soulless demigods” with the walking mausoleums and the knights that guard it. Yet none of them have the influence that Godwin has/had. Maybe Godwyn’s curse was to become the prince of death. It also doesn’t help that game game has so little info on him pre-death

[@hatefulgaming1800]

@@justinsheppard7445 I always assumed they died normally while only Godwynn’s soul died, but who knows with this game.

[@ultragamer4465]

@@justinsheppard7445 yeah those are the other demigods that died during the night of black knives. Theyre descendants of godfrey and Marika who didn't really make anything of themselves so Marika had them killed by her people, the numen (black knife assassins)

[@Sleeper_6875]

one interesting thing is that the albinaurics are connected to almost everyone: rykard experimented on them, gideon massacred them, miquella and malenia offered them a safe haven, rennala may have played a role in their creation through rebirth, the nox may have created them, the golden order looked down upon them as they had no grace, etc

[@khandimahn9687]

A correction: 14:38 Malenia did not 'vanish and flee.' From Cleanrot Knight Finlay Ashes: "Finlay was one of the few survivors of the Battle of Aeonia, who in an unimaginable act of heroism carried the slumbering demigod Malenia all the way back to the Haligtree. She managed the feat alone, fending off all manner of foes along the way."

[@geordiejones5618]

I love how every demigod has at least one incredibly loyal badass in their service.

[@luneth5646]

This sounds like a deed a loyal shadow would do. Are there some clues out there that Finlay might be the shadow of Malenia?

[@khandimahn9687]

@@luneth5646 The spirit summon looks like a regular Cleanrot Knight, no hint of a wolf-like snout. So I very much doubt they're a Shadow. But it would have made sense.

[@A_Black_Sheep94]

He certainly saved her from Radahn utterly eliminating her from existence, even after her desperate attempt with the Scarlet Rot she didn't slow him or stop him slightly.

[@tonylethanh]

@@A_Black_Sheep94 she*

[@ethanielhalling9426]

Regarding the Twins missing shadows: it could be argued that tgey are EACHOTHER’S shadows. Miquella’s motivation for all his actions is to cure malenia’s rot. Malenia’s fundamental motivation is to protect miquella. Its like a delicate shadow dance.

[@BBoy4040]

1) Shadows are beasts 2) If we're saying that every Empyrean has a shadow, by that law they cannot be each other's shadows because someone's missing from either formula. So best case scenario because they're twins they may have a joint shadow. 3) Kinda weird for a shadow to have a great rune.

[@Agentlefox]

@@BBoy4040 I get what you're saying but it's also kinda weird that a shadow has the rune of Destined Death.

[@decidueyezealot8611]

The problem with this is shadows are also assasins for the fingers, and I doubt they would kill each other

[@BBoy4040]

@@Agentlefox Look, how Marika was allowed to get away with as much as she did without the GW knowing is probably Elden Ring's biggest mystery still.

[@arlaux1099]

@@BBoy4040 Just don’t talk about it 4head ez

[@yourchildhooddog]

friendship with Vaati is OVER, my best friend is CRUNCHY now

[@OneDayIMay91Bil]

I love this soooo much I miss this meme , Pakistani blokes are funny AF

[@SirSaladAss]

Too be fair, Vaati never goes too in-depth with his Lore explaining. He never has. But he's the biggest lore channel so he's become the posterchild for the community. The real in-depth lore probing is done by the small creators, and especially with Elden Ring I've been having tons of fun discovering new lore channels!

[@eetfuk3571]

@@SirSaladAss V-Limit is my favourite. absolutely fantastic lore videos and I keep learning from him.

[@ZachariasTheFirst]

@@SirSaladAss HonoredMadman is one of the greatest gifts this game has given us

[@kanyekubrick5391]

These hoes ain’t loyal

[@shogomakishima7224]

Also btw when we looks at some of Fia's dialogue: "With this, Godwyn can take his rightful place as First of the Dead. And claim a second, illustrious life." "I will soon lay with Godwyn. And it will surely stir within me. the new life of the golden prince, and first Dead of the demigods, as the rune of Those Who Live in Death." She mentions there the mending rune of death will somehow lead to the second life of Godwyn and combining it with the similarities between the mending rune of death and the sign of the eclipse and the spirit dialogue about the eclypse I am quite confident that the "mending rune of death" is supposed to be the real eclipse that leads Godwyn (and possibly other soulless demigods) to be reborn. This does have a lot connections to the death birds.

[@crothschild]

I think Miquilla was trying to become an outer god himself. It seems that the only way to fully counter the will of the Rot God is to be an outer God too.

[@illeagle9560]

Makes sense actually

[@duquette1792]

Wouldn't be very 'Outer' actually, now that I think of it, would he be the first god that is native to the lands between?

[@crothschild]

@@duquette1792 I mean he wants the same power and influence as an Outer God, with power enough to challenge their will. He didn't want to be a mere vessel of someone else's order, he tried to make his own. I think it would technically make him Outer if he succeeded, I doubt he would be 100% in this plane of existence, like how the Formless Mother is everywhere but nowhere.

[@arcanefire7511]

He almost created a needle that could negate all outer god influence in a person just by stabbing them, i doubt he'd have to go that far. I also doubt if an outer god can directly fight another properly.

[@illeagle9560]

@@arcanefire7511 he actually created one and almost finished the other. You give one to Sage Gowry to fix so you can give it to Millicent to keep away the rot. And the other is used for the frenzy flame

[@flavertex658]

Think about this for a moment: the connection between the naming conventions used for Miquella and the other souls games. The name "Quela" or "Quella," altered with extra syllables, is both peculiar and mysterious, but is nevertheless ubiquitous in FromSoft's work. Consider the following: In Dark Souls 1, Quelaag is a daughter of the Witch of Izalith. She has red hair and is dedicated to the protection of her frail and ailing sister, the "Fair Lady." I here draw parallels to the red-haired defender of a frail sibling as analogical to Malenia, meaning that in this analogy the Fair Lady is analogical to Miquella. Consider the cocooning that goes on at the Haligtree that you've associated with Miquella, and the cocoons of the Fair Lady spread about Quelaag's domain. More Importantly: in Dark Souls 2, there is a god mentioned sparsely named "Quella," this being even closer to Miquella. The lore is too; consider the item description for the "Grand Spirit Tree Shield" from Dark Souls 2: "Shield of the blue spirit tree that and is said to possess divine powers. Appears in the allegory of Quella, God of Dream, and can deflect spells by parrying. Once there was a boy who was easily frightened, until the talking tree of dreamworld transformed itself into a shield to protect him." Miquella is associated with dreams (St. Trina) and trees (Haligtree) as well. My theory, then, is that the Miquella and Malenia are attempts to expand and combine the stories and concepts associated with the word "Quela/Quella" in Dark Souls 1 and 2. The name, then, is like a kind of bookkeeping mechanism to sort the aligned themes. The fact that the character in Elden Ring is named "Miquella" may even be a mere concession to the naming schemes of having things start with the letters G, R, and M, and that the correct understanding of the name is to identify it as Quella, the same as was mentioned in passing in the previous Dark Souls games.

[@CrunchyVideos]

Wow, amazing connection! I’m not familiar with DS2 lore so I can’t comment on that, but the Fair Lady connection is definitely there. Although doesn’t Quelaag have black hair? Regardless, might be interesting to dive into the original conception for Izalith that didn’t make it into DS1 to see where Miyazaki’s mind was at.

[@flavertex658]

@@CrunchyVideos After looking back at Dark Souls 1 I realize that you might be right on the black hair 😂 The fire backlighting Quelaag must have made me think she had dark red hair this whole time, I only now went back and got a good look at it haha.

[@Bhubnipz]

Bruh either you’re crazy or Im crazy

[@Chessheromusic]

Wow good catch. Grm are his initials but the names meaning are also important. Miquella meaning close to the word of god. Or the action or movement of god. There is enough evidence to suggest that Miquella is the focus of the story and the actual story is a hidden one. Meaning no one comes out one says it and it has to he inferred. Miquella created the halig tree to house his curse while he moved his soul to a unrenowned tarnished albinauric body which does not have a soul. Miquella may have not created the albinauric but he definitely perfected them as the most complete species is the ones guarding the halig tree. Merika cannot be at two places at one time. Meaning when radagon is around Merika is not. What is inferred that both Godwin and Miquella have this regis ability as well. There is a long explaination to how this all happened but the result is that we don't need doc to see what happened to miquella. BC he is the player character. This story is miquellas plan to become elden lord ridding himself of his curse housed in the halig tree and realizing That torrent recognizes Miquella from the beginning. Is Miquella torrents former master? I don't think so. It does not mean torrents choice means nothing

[@ashencometmom5291]

about the DLC, as a little hopeful argument from someone who would like to see more out of characters like miquella and melina, DLC in past games was almost never _completely_ detached from the main story. ds1 elaborated on the abyss and the legend of artorias, ds2 let you talk to vendrick and showed some other fragments of manus, bloodborne elaborated on kos, ludwig, laurence and the doll, and ds3, while being the most loosely connected to the already vague narrative of the game, at least showed one of the two previously unseen founders of the sable church it's never the kind of lore fanservice that most fans seem to expect when they talk about a "miquella DLC," but i'd say it's very likely that the inevitable DLC will use a less-than-complete character as a narrative springboard to thrust the player into a new, tangentially related setting, and miquella would be a good pick for that role

[@CrunchyVideos]

Good points. I actually argued with my brother about this point; obviously the DLCs are never *completely* new stories, so that’s a bit of hyperbole. But I think Miyazaki likes to use the DLCs to tell stories that exist unto themselves. I don’t think he’s gonna wanna use the DLC to *fix* the base game.

[@michaelsperry2654]

Yeah, I'm of a similar mind. From's DLC's tend to act as something of a microcosm for the themes and mechanics of the base game distilled into a new(ish) location. That is to say that while I think there's a good chance Miquella will be in the DLC, he won't be the sole focus. He may just be a pretext for introducing us to a new location(perhaps the lands of the Numen).

[@hakimonn]

There is another reason why it's higly possible for Miquella to appear in the DLCs. Great Runes. In base game we never got Miquella's and even Ranni's Great Runes. And there are a bunch of cut content in base game revolving around Miquella, i'd say it's pretty much confirmed Miquella will appear in a DLC.

[@brennanneaton3062]

I agree with your overarching point but saying that DS 3’s DLC is the most “disconnected” from the plot is criminally wrong. it literally shows exactly how Gwyn tricked the pygmies, more of his children, what happened to humans after the rise of the gods, it shows the true fate of the world post Gwyn’s first sin, and you work with the painter to make a small word that is as it should be. It is the one thing that provides an ending that actually wraps everything up. DS 3’s and bloodborne DLC is actually the main reason I’m hoping for major reveals concerning key characters like Miquella, as opposed to DS 1s DLC exploring a relatively minor side character

[@ashencometmom5291]

@@brennanneaton3062 it's just disconnected from the standalone, self contained worldbuilding of dark souls 3. as an epilogue to the entire series, which is what it was really made to be anyway, it's phenomenal and informative, even if it's just to hammer the point home by showing a more blatant instance of gwyn being a dipshit tyrant who stirred the abyss specifically by trying to repress it. i didn't consider comparing it to elden ring in that way cuz elden ring isn't a series (yet) and couldn't have the type of metanarrative that really makes TRC great

[@toddpark8358]

Berserk is coming back baby! Not over any more. Same studio is continuing manga along with kentaro Miura's close friend, Kouji Mori - the only person he told Berserk's story to from start to finish. He will take over the series.

[@CrunchyVideos]

Just saw this as I was uploading! Super excited. More fuel for future Miyazaki enterprises haha

[@darthacez]

With us giving the Unalloyed Gold Needle with Millicent’s dew to Malenia in her bloom, this restores her sense of self(her sanity) and giving us Miquella’s needle and Ancient Smith Dragon Stone is a form of gratitude from her.(Maybe she is hinting to us how clew can remove influence from the Outer Gods/Three Fingers)

[@thediabolicalraisin8953]

Wait, so you're saying that the flower IS Malenia herself?

[@darthacez]

@@thediabolicalraisin8953 Yep

[@BBoy4040]

@@thediabolicalraisin8953 Well yeah? The flower is supposed to bloom 3 times and after you beat her she goes into the last bloom to become the embodiment of rot so she's still very much alive after you beat her.

[@shogomakishima7224]

Rani was an Empyrean since childhood as she was given Blaidd when she was just a kid. I think same thing happened with Marika and Maliketh. Even if the fingers choose the empyrean in the end the do so based on something and this something seems to be an inborn feature... not accomplishments. As you have noted being an Empyrean is associated with the body and body is the result of birth.

[@visionofsolace8961]

Makes total sense, Ranni herself became something transcendental and unnatural by departing from her flesh, and by turning into a desimbodied goddess in a dolls body, she successfully became an avatar of herself, still containing some of her powers, also acquiring weird capabilities.

[@ultragamer4465]

Yeah it's probably related to being born directly of chosen vassals. Rennala chosen by the Full Moon while Radagon and Marika was chosen by the Greater Will

[@quickdrawmcgrawww]

All the cuckoo symbolism and the brood parasitism those birds exhibit point strongly to Ranni being the child of Marika/Radagon. There’s even a big golden egg that Radagon leaves in Rennala’s nest. To me this also explains the connection between Ranni and Melina, given Marika’s predilection for producing twins.

[@quickdrawmcgrawww]

Oh, this also explains Melina being the gloam eyed queen, as she would also be an empyrean, she’s connected to the black flame as its power needs to be unsealed by defeating Maliketh and releasing the rune of death, so she can burn the erdtree. This is why she sends you to Farum Azula. And this part is more speculative, but there is a lot of ash present in the capital before You Burn the tree. I believe this is from when Vyke attempted to burn the tree with only the frenzied flame but without the tube of death unsealed.

[@CrunchyVideos]

Wow I never even thought about the cuckoo. This makes a lot of sense.

[@marinribaric9749]

Interesting connection. So if Melina is the Dusk/Gloam Eyed Queen means she created the Godskin Apostols and their obsession of killing gods/demigods and skinning people...

[@quickdrawmcgrawww]

Honestly, I didn’t make the connection until you started talking about Ranni and Melina’s connection to the twinbird shield on the podcast. One twin is fire, the other is ice. The ghost flame is cold flame. I think that’s why Iji winds up burned in ghost flame, maybe a mercy from Ranni since he wouldn’t want to be absorbed by the erdtree.

[@matiasluukkanen7718]

I would like to know then what is the meaning of Three Sister Towers. One is named after Ranni. One is named after Renna. Third is oddly enough renamed after Seluvis, who I think we all agree is not Carian princess. So who are these three sisters? I think they might be Ranni, Renna and third could be Melina? But I have still no idea who Renna is. Is she fused with Ranni? What is she, considering she is not counted among Demigods yet Ranni uses her name as an alias? Is there two additional Carian princesses running around?

[@dtfitness9272]

Regarding the twins not having a shadow, it's possible both of them have an unalloyed needle within them stopping their two fingers from interfering and providing them with one. This would also explain why the blood of a formless mother has no effect on Miquella.

[@darthacez]

I heavily believe there is going to be a DLC continuation of the story about Miquella/Malenia(when she wakes) and the cut Age of Abundance ending(possibly). This game is going to be supported for a long time due to its great success and it being possibly last Soulsborne game for a while.

[@CrunchyVideos]

Where did you hear about a cut Age of Abundance? There was a cut Age of Absolute but it turns out it was just an alternative name for Age of Perfect Order- I’ve not seen anything about Abundance.

[@atticratz6128]

The music from Ran in the beginning is fitting, love it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts through the vid

[@CrunchyVideos]

Wow didn’t expect anyone to recognize that, good catch!

[@atticratz6128]

@@CrunchyVideos I often revisit soundtracks, and Ran has a very interesting one - it feels very otherworldly. Really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on Miquella by the way, thanks for taking the time to make a video!

[@VenomSapphire]

Considering “Radagon is Marika” as directly stated in game, then Ranni, Rykard, and Radahn are all offspring of Marika (as Radagon) The logistics of this is definitely confusing but I believe it fills many holes in the story such as how Ranni could be born an Empyrean

[@matthewball9851]

Yes, Ranni, Rykard, and Radahn all 'become' Markia's children if they were two seperate being that fused into one, or they always were Marika's children if Radagon was always an aspect of Marika.

[@PSNMirru]

@@matthewball9851 how would they all be considered Demigods if Marika and Radagon were not always the same person. At that time the only God (not counting the Outer Gods) was Marika thanks to the Elden Beast. For Ranni, Rykard and Radahn to be Demigods their god genes had to have come from Marika

[@nutzy99ify]

Idk guy, Marika took Radahgan into herself so I believe they were separate beings but they needed to fuse to try to escape the Guidance of grace. But yeah when a person fuses with another I suppose ranni radahan, and rykard would become her kin

[@Zombina638]

Ranni is rennlas

[@A_Black_Sheep94]

An child born of a Mortal and a God is still an empyrean as it is a single God in the conception. There's nothing to suggest an empyrean can't be born to a mortal and God as opposed to the same God banging itself.

[@marinribaric9749]

You mentioned that being an Empyrean is tied to one's body and that it can be escaped by doing what Ranni did during the Night of Black Knives, but when Ranni departs after you deliver to her the Fingerslayer Blade Iji mentions that: "Lady Ranni has departed on her journey. Along the dark path of the Empyrean,..." and as well when you meet him and ask about blaidd he says: "When Lady Ranni renounced her flesh, and chose the dark path of the Empyrean, Blaidd and I swore allegiance as vassals, but none of us will ever forget our earliest days together." Implying that she is still an Empyrean, though not tied to the Greater Will through her pair of Two Fingers.

[@CrunchyVideos]

Really good point. Not really sure what to make of that; I feel like you wouldn’t say “I was once an Empyrean” if you still are, but I don’t know.

[@marinribaric9749]

@@CrunchyVideos Ranni might be refering to no longer being the Greater Will's Empyrean. Also whenever Iji mentions Ranni being an Empyrean post Night of Black Knives he phrases her being on the "dark path" of the Empyrean, not directly that she is an Empyrean.

[@marinribaric9749]

Wait. Is he in this quote refering to her currently as an Empyrean or merely using her as an general example of the relationship between an Empyrean and their Shadow? "I presume you've spoken with Blaidd? Very well. There is something you should know. The Two Fingers gave Blaidd to Lady Ranni, as a faithful follower. Her very shadow, incapable of treachery. But if Lady Ranni, as an Empyrean, reists being an instrument of the Two Fingers, the shadow will go mad, transforming from a follower into a horrid curse. But such is his destiny. In such matters, Blaidd's own thoughts hold no weight. It pains me so, but he must be neutralised. For Lady Ranni's sake."

[@gooncave7905]

Ranni, as she mentions, once was an empyrean until she renounced her flesh, perhaps the ‘dark path’ of an empyrean is simply referring to the act of slaying the two fingers that are given to empyreans (is that right? can’t remember the wording around how it works when an empyrean has their own two fingers) But yeah my point is that the dark path of an empyrean, to me, refers to the killing of your two fingers. Said dark path might be why the Nox were banished underground since the fingerslayer blade being in their possession implies that it was used.

[@marinribaric9749]

@@gooncave7905 I agree with the connection between the banishment of the Nox and creating a weapon made specifically for slaying an instance of Two Fingers, but think that it's only part of the reason. They also wanted to usher in an Age of Stars with a Night Lord, which is Ranni's ending and furthermore, Nokstella contains the Moon of Nokstella which states: "This talisman represents the lost black moon. The moon of Nokstella was the guide of countless stars." They wanted to end the Age of the Erdtree. This is what I assume is the reason they were banished underground. Though Iji might just be referring to Ranni slaying her Two Fingers, but I'm still stopped by the whole phrase "dark path of the Empyrean", not "her dark path". Tho you might very well be right with "dark path" referring to just slaying the instance of Two Fingers. Then again, a lot of things related to Ranni have the "dark" prefix (Ranni's Dark Moon, Dark Moonlight Greatsword) and related to the Moon. I think "dark path of the Empyrean" here referes to not just slaying the Fingers but also the whole path that leads to her enacting the Age of Stars.

[@vremen555]

Hands down the most creative lore-hunter on KZbin, keep it up!

[@Radiotomb]

I love the idea that Malenia knew Mogh had kidnapped Miquella, and that Malenia brought her army to Kaelid with the goal of going underground to save her brother.

[@Radiotomb]

Radahn would not be friendly to Malenia, since she's loyal to her brother, who rejected the Golden Order. Since Radahn is a huge fanboy of Godfrey and the Golden Order, he would look at Malenia as an enemy, and would not want her moving through his lands.

[@RashFever26]

@@Radiotomb I believe this too. It's very apparent to me when you also notice that the Heart of Aeonia lies right on top of Miquella's cocoon, like 15 meters away horizontally. Radahn also wanted to protect the Eternal Cities along with Sellia, and Malenia taking the elevator to Siofra-Nokron would mean risking control over the cities. It never made sense to me why Malenia would be so hellbent on defeating Radahn, it's not for great runes since she left Godrick alive. One reason may be defeating him as he was becoming too powerful, but nuking a whole continent and going comatose just because of that? Instead, I believe Radahn was blocking the elevator to Siofra-Nokron (and thus Miquella), only accessible through the canyon from the swamp of Aeonia (which during the battle between Radahn and Malenia was still a desert). Also we presumably know both from the intro (if we take it as a chronological storytelling) and the "bloody conspiracy" mentioned in a sword monument, that Miquella was stolen before Malenia's battle with Radahn.

[@ZMSKfullpower]

Miquela trying his best to cure his sister Malenia. We as tarnish: " I got rot ? Great, maybe that pink pill that I found a few days ago on some random body will be usefull. "

[@ladyabaxa]

There's a big difference between being afflicted with the Scarlet Rot because it is in the environment around you and being the demi-god vessel OF the Scarlet Rot, a being the outer god of Rot is trying to use to expand its influence in your world.

[@hatefulgaming1800]

@@ladyabaxa How would you know?

[@NickCombs]

I'm quite late to this video, so you might have learned of this theory already. But hey just in case. Godwyn the Golden might have had a golden sun as his icon. Thus the Sun Realm shield could indicate forces loyal to him before the night of black knives. Fitting that they are skeletons in Leyndell wielding the black flame of death. The shield might depict castle sol, which could in turn have been Godwyn's holding in those days. Since the sun is quite diminished in the sky and could be said to be pale, that lines up with the idea that Godwyn's undeath drained it of its gold color. It follows that a pale eclipse perfectly symbolizes a true death for Godwyn.

[@johncra8982]

17:30 I thought for a moment you were about to suggest something about miquella and malenia's mirrored natures that I've been thinking for a while, but you went in a different direction due in part to a point on which I diverge from your theories on radagon and marika. I believe it is much likelier that radagon was split off from marika and created from a part of her being (I mentioned in the comments to your stream with ratatoskr that I believe it to be a process similar to eve's creation from a rib that was split off from adam that created radagon) and I believe that malenia and miquella are in some ways one child that was split into two beings. I'm still fleshing out my thoughts on this, but between the idea of one spirit inhabiting two bodies, the clones associated with malenia, the complimentary nature of the twins, the androgynous depictions of miquella and st. Trina, and the fact that miquella is both absent from the game and characterized as someone capable of great manipulation, I believe there's something worth exploring here 🤔 Hope you continue uploading more videos, your theories do a lot more to spark this kind of investigation than most 👍

[@Lilbird2fye]

The only comparison I can give to this is that radagon and marika are same but split with red and gold hair. Same as melania

[@UltraStarWarsFanatic]

With regard to the great rune of the unborn, Maliketh's boss room shows that the Elden Ring at one point had many more great runes than the one we're familiar with. The great rune of the unborn could be one of several great runes that was removed from it prior to any of this.

[@armandaneshjoo]

"Let us be shattered both" means let's shatter the Elden ring. This is seen in the first cinematic. As they break the ring, they themselves break with it. It's also seen in the final fight. both Marika and Radagon have a broken body.

[@CrunchyVideos]

Seems strange she would tell him this though because he wants to repair it

[@armandaneshjoo]

@@CrunchyVideos He would've found out anyway. They share a body.

[@CrunchyVideos]

@@armandaneshjoo At that point they didn't-- she says you are not yet me. I'm not convinced; why would she say "let *us* be shattered"? Not let the ring be shattered, or let the order be shattered-- she's talking about them as people specifically.

[@armandaneshjoo]

@@CrunchyVideos My god there is so much to explain. I'm gonna have to ace this. Question 1: Why "yet to become me"? Context 1: These are Marika's final words right before shattering the Elden ring. She knows she will be killed immediately after this by Malekith (from Islamic Malek, meaning angel of death), and she knows Radagon will survive that. She needs Radagon to "become her" afterwards and cover up a lot of things. She also expects Radagon to replace her and "become a god". both of those things happen. Answer 1: "Thou are yet to become me" doesn't just mean "you are not yet me". It also implies you are getting there or at least moving towards becoming me. Question 2: Why "let us be shattered, mine other self". why "shattered"? Context 2: Myazaki loves using one word to mean two things when both are true. for examole Marika means "Mercury", "rebellious woman", and "from the bitter sea". all of those meanings are built into her story. another example: Marika's rune is like an ark, but it is also a crux. Her statues welcome you with open arms to her chapels. but she is also crucified. so which is it? I think both. lets hope u get it. Answer 2: likewise shattered both means broken and separated. It means broken because they break the ring while they ARE the ring, as seen in the final fight). separated because Marika dies and only Radagon, her "other self" is left. Question 3: How are Radagon and Marika the same person? How did that happen? How do we know that? Marika and Radagon are not the same souls. They share the same body, as seen in the final fight. They joined together to become the Rebis. They are The final product of the alchemy of building the Magnum Opus. They are the Magnum Opus (meaning the great work). They are the philosopher's stone; The essense of immortality. (See Max Derrat for more). This is how Marika is eternal. this is how she became a god. Question 5: What are they conspiring about? what is Radagon supposed to do after this? I don't know. But he did cover up Marika's death. Years later, no one knows she is dead, besides him and Malekith. Question 6: Why he tries to repair the ring? I don't know. Why do we? why is everyone trying to repair the ring? Does he want to become a god as he is promised? Does he want the power of the ring? he is not without success at doing either.

[@marinribaric9749]

@@armandaneshjoo Radagon is a Golden Order Fundamentalist. From what I've gathered he is a firm supporter of the Greater Will and is compelled by his convictions to make the Elden Ring whole. Tho I suspect that he isn't quite there anymore. Kinda like Radhan, but not caused by scarlet rot.

[@verybrownsalmon]

I found that interesting that academy of Raya Lucaria, where rune of rebirth is kept, is built above the lake of rot. And Scarlet Rot is kinda about rebirth. I was always curious about Lake of Rot. It is between Nokstella, Astel and Raya Lucaria. All three are magical/starry things. Makes Lake of Rot kinda not in the right place. Btw, love your content. I found it the most interesting among Elden Ring lore videos.

[@CrunchyVideos]

Yes the location of rot is very interesting. You have to traverse it to reach Moonlight Altar as well. Begs the question why the blind swordsman would have sealed Rot specifically in Nokstella- why was the outer god there?

[@wastelandwarrior3297]

@@CrunchyVideos like you I'm highly interested in this as well. If you expand on this theory I would definitely like to hear your thoughts

[@Brendonherring522]

I think your natural progression from this video is to do one on Godwyn. Your exploration of the themes of the spirit world and death in this game have been extremely interesting.

[@OfficialChrissums]

I see miquella as a non-evil griffith, mixed with Bran from ASOIAF. I suspect Bran will use his powers to cut off the influence of the outer gods that are implied/shown to exist in AOIAF, and seeing that theme appear again in elden ring, almost beat for beat (crippled child, special powers, tries to stop evil gods) all but confirms it for me. I smell GRR Martins influence.

[@faceless8424]

That's a great refrence! The third eye is also a big part of Bran's character. His connection to trees is pretty much transformation into an old god. Resisting the influence of gods, influencing dreams and memories are also big parts of his character.

[@daltonclegg2610]

I was hypothesising that st trina was miquella while he was in his cocoon, dreaming (on purpose or even maybe unconsciously) of his own rebirthed self and manifesting similarly in symptoms to that of other greater influences in the minds of those in the lands between; however Miquellas sleep was interrupted by mohg so it was only fleeting a time that this would have happened in the history of the lands between; Its only telling of the power they would have had if they were allowed to complete their metamorphoses if they inspired equipment like the swords and a low key cult following that is also somehow the best kept secret in the whole game universe xD

[@FlubbedPig]

Something worth noting, Gideon describes Rennala's golden egg and Miquella as seperate shardbearers. We could just say that he simply wasn't aware that it was Miquella's Rune inside the egg, but personally that makes me think that the Unborn thing inside the egg was in-fact a third child of Marika and Radagon, making it's rune share position with Malenia and (presumably) Miquella's.

[@souplife1]

Yooo, I loved you on Ratotoskr's podcast, you brought so many interesting ideas and a whole different perspective that changed how I look at the game! Keep it up, can't wait to see more content!

[@Neptunequeen42]

I'm so glad to hear someone else mention the idea that the demigods in the walking mausoleums are the collateral from the night of black knives. It just makes too much sense. If you think about how the mausoleums are so painstakingly designed to never let these corpses touch the ground, I think they're a reaction to the first attempt to give godwyn erdtree burial which led to the horrifying spread of deathroot. Given that the shattering happened immediately after godwyn died, it's also possible morgott was the one who set this whole thing up since he'd be in charge of things by then. 'Unwanted children', to me, reads like the ghost assumes marika no longer wants them because they're tainted by the rune of death, and maybe they're not even 'properly' dead just like godwyn. therefore they're still technically alive, but discarded into this quarantine. It sort of parallels someone in a vegetative state on life support whose family abandons them because they're seen as a burden. That's the kind of 'unwanted' I always interpreted that as.

[@DaHansWars]

Hey Crunchy, seen your podcast with Ratataskr and was really impressed by your theories. These two videos so far really cemented that suspicion was confirmed. Do you think you could do a deep dive on Stormveil Castle, especially how it seems to be tied to the Banished Knights and Banished Footmen, who do not appear to be part of Godricks army, but seem to be much closer to Godfrey in allegiance and iconography. Adding to that it seems that the Roundtable Hold is also very much tied to the Banished Knights, having their armour and weapons spread all around. This has me thinking that the Banished Knights and Footmen might be those Tarnished who were chased out alongside Godfrey. Yet that begs the question why they would be in the castle all around Godrick. Except of course that Godrick is surrounded by corpses and weaponry, suggesting that the Banished Army might have been trying to kill Godrick, together with that Dragon, which is on the Banished Knights helmet crest aswell and may be connected to them too. It is just as strange that not a single Godrick Soldier would be found inside the Stormveil Keep beyond Margit, making me think that Margit may be preventing Godricks men from getting into the castle to aid their Lord.

[@CrunchyVideos]

That’s super interesting, it hadn’t occurred to me that there aren’t any Godrick soldiers inside!

[@CrunchyVideos]

Btw just thought of this-- Meowmaritus said at one point that the Banished Knights are flagged as dragons in the code, meaning that dragonwound grease and similar things do extra damage to them.

[@stirrcrazy2704]

Up until this I was under the impression that Radagon was always Marika, and was just an alter-ego she used to exert further control over the world. Sort of like a Zelda/Shiek scenario. When Godfrey wasn’t able to fully complete his duties as Elden Lord, Marika just went “ok I guess I’ll do it myself”. I definitely missed some of the readings lmao

[@obamabiden]

you know you've reached the deeproot depths level of deep lore when the explanation of a theme or in game thing ends with "what all this means, i am not really sure"

[@mikoajkozakiewicz9901]

18:05 Great rune of the unborn could reference miquella as in "he's yet to be born", when he wakes up from his slumber his rebirth will be complete.

[@informationjunkie]

I have yet to finish the game but I've seen a few videos talking about Miquella. It seems one of Miquella's goals was to revive Godwyn (or put him out of his misery). Castle Sol and the eclipse they were waiting for seemed to be key to this, but Radahn is holding the heavens in place. Miquella sent Malenia to kill Radahn, or she volunteered, or, if it was necessary but Miquella was against it, she waited till her brother was cucooned inside the Haligtree to go anyway.

[@jaffacake1881]

Excellent stuff - absolutely love the theory about Godwyn's soul, as far fetched as it sounds, and all the stuff with the unnamed demigods

[@phoenixclown1301]

love your videos already, incredibly detailed. i appreciate that youre not necessarily trying to definitively answer questions and rather the focus is on presenting related information and possible theories. you give us the watchers the information we need to start developing our own ideas on top of putting your own perspective out there. and i think a really important aspect a lot of lore compilers miss out on is using thematic connections between ingame lore with the real-world lore/established stories that may have inspired it to flesh things out. nicely edited and quality narration. keep it up, i would love to see more

[@AssailantLF]

I have two things to say about this video: 1. Your videos are among, if not the, most insightful and interesting takes on ER lore that I've seen. I love the kinds of connections that you draw, the way you separate fact from interpretation from speculation, and how you have just the right amount of skepticism to come up with many interesting ideas and rule out the most unlikely ones. 2. Lovin the Thanos build featured throughout

[@pseudofossil7338]

Happy to see you make more of these! Really enjoyed your other video as a guest with Ratatoskr.

[@kunnykuni]

Great video ! About your comment on DLC : -Previous DLC always introduce some of the most hyped characters of the base game, such as Artorias, Friede (one of the 3 sisters of Londor), the Demon Prince (defeated by Lorian), Lawrence, Ludwig, and Kos. -DLC often introduce time travel or time shenanigans, which means we could see Godwyn alive and Miquella out of his cocoon -Finally Sekiro didn't get a DLC

[@alexthebasilisk]

Wow, what an incredible video. Keep up the great work!

[@k1xnt]

whoa THIS is the sort of deeeeep lore dive I've been looking for. The amount of thought put into these connections.. I'm 20 minutes in and I've had my mind blown about 5 times. Subbed

[@ShirakiAkarin]

I'm sorry ? you can see Rennala using her legs on her second phase, a full recrearion made by Ranni of her mother. If Rennala couldn't use her legs, Ranni would have made her clone like that.

[@CrunchyVideos]

The second phase could just be an illusion of Ranni’s, not necessarily representative of what she was really like. However, the stargazer heirloom suggests she did walk at some point. But that doesn’t mean her legs work now.

[@BlazeStorm]

You just quickly stating the questions about Dark Souls 3 shows me how interested I still am in that world, even in comparison to Elden Ring. I hope you're gonna cover it someday

[@wolandisdead]

Excellent video. I find your ability to connect themes in the game with alchemical concepts really fascinating. It would be great to see a video devoted to the overlap between alchemical concepts and elden ring themes. Keep up the great work!

[@gabrielandrade9237]

the game is pretty explicit with the *impurity of the golden order* and one Man talked really well about it, his name is *GOLD MASK* , he discovered the impurity to be Marika herself

[@paulroche7588]

Man great video….and now i have the biggest urge to dust off my Berserk volumes and do another read through, easily my favorite work of fiction ever

[@ianrussell5813]

Honestly your content so far has been peak Elden Ring deep-dives and I think you've got a great thing going here!

[@majinlilkek4367]

Love your vids so far Really great presentation and good choice of music. I love chill lore theories and explanations way more than flashy shit where you get a heart attack from loud sounds every 2 seconds.

[@drewhuscher496]

I really like your casual approach to piecing things together, with the odd "but I'm not sure about this" thrown in making everything feel like clever guestimation. It's a really nice way of approaching these videos that contrasts with some of the "for sure" videos. I also like how you're referencing the influences Miyazaki used and how theyight help explain certain inspirations, but aren't leaning too heavily on them. Also, nice use of the SotC music towards the end.

[@funwithfrank7522]

Awesome video man now subscribed look forward too seeing what you do next

[@SenHai]

Nice to see you making content now. Looking forward to more.

[@maleniabladeofmiquella3758]

I love your videos man ! So many channels talk like what they say is lore accurate and you really bring out the mystery that From Soft captures in Elden ring

[@nineleafclover1477]

I like how you provide a lot of examples of what things may or may not connect rather than the "here's how it is, here's what happened" approach of a lot of other lore videos. Feels a lot more exploratory and invites a lot more theory development. Speaking of which, Renala, her egg, and her relation with Radagon seems to come up a lot in videos not about them, and there were a lot more connections than I thought. You've touched on eyes before, and one thing I find interesting is Renala's behavior and eyes throughout the fight. Initially she's got clouded golden eyes, is soft spoken, and seems obsessed with the egg. Her first phase is her sitting in a cradle, protected (or entrapped?) in a golden order-esque shield. The lyrics sound like a lullaby to a child, but in game it seems the children are actually singing the a lullaby to Renala. When it ends, Ranni's spell kicks in and says no one will disturb her mother's "slumber". And then phase 2 kicks in, Renala regains conviction, and her eyes are crisp blue, and becomes a legitimate foe. The lore implications if Ranni was an immaculate conception/Renala was more a surrogate mother get pretty interesting, as well as what actually happened between Renala and Radagon.

[@bilbobaggins9167]

I doubt you'll see this, but I have to say: you may be new at this, but you're already the best in the business as far as I'm concerned. So insightful. I was getting ready to give up on lorehunting, as I felt there was just no way to connect everything in the game. Too much missing information. While that's still partially true, you've given me a lot to think about in these last two videos. I had been wondering why certain areas have an abundance of spirit animals and even spirit trees. It makes a little more sense now, but why some areas are more affected than others I have no idea.

[@jacobh2629]

Very interesting and well put together video. Good audio quality as well.

[@nirokal]

The use of Demon's souls music was a great way to get me captivated! That music just hits different, thanks so much! I also really find Miquella to be the most interesting character in Elden RIng so it's a perfect combination :)

[@bandiriatraveler8343]

Always love the music you use in these videos. Good taste!

[@pawnshop_ghost]

Here bc of Ratatoskr podcast and man I love all of your both videos so far. Very much looking forward to more!

[@vremen555]

YES I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS

[@robboss9044]

Great Video! Looking forward to more content like this!

[@kiratuza1528]

Man you are the king of elden ring lore youtuber and you make high quality video

[@valyy151]

You and Hawkshaw are the 2 best youtube channels right now. Im so glad I listened to that podcast you were in. You are very talented for lore analysis I hope you keep it up bro. :)

[@CrunchyVideos]

Thank you!

[@Orsen31592]

As we dont have timestamps on when anybody was born, I believe when Radagon gifted Rennala his unborn rune, it allowed Miquella to be birthed, as in as long as the rune remained on his possesion, Marika couldnt give birth, seeing the other demigods are Radagon and Rennala's. Maybe his birth is what procced a chain reaction leading to the greater will's downfall, and maybe that was Marika's plan all along, from the point of her "splitting" herself

[@coreyrachar9694]

both of your videos are excellent, look forward to the next.

[@jbr1255]

Great vid! I dont have any advice or suggestions, but I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and your chat with Ratatoskr on the Yggdrasil Podcast 🤙

[@arabidllama]

What a fantastic video, both this and your other! Looking forward to whatever's next up. More thoughts: Re: Unalloyed Gold - I think the "impurity" in the Golden Order is that the Greater Will doesn't actually *want* to stop Malenia's rot. It benefits from the conflict she generates, as this conflict is what the Erdtree flourishes on. Miquella, upon researching the power of "gold" for himself, would realize that the Greater Will had the power to help all along and didn't. Thus, the hard break with the Erdtree and starting his own. I love your Battle of Aeonia theory - especially considering that Moghwyn palace is directly below the Radahn boss arena, and there's cut content for a meteor hole exactly there, pointing roughly at the weird path that the Consecrated Snowfield warps you to. Perhaps Malenia wanted Radahn to quit Starscourging, either in canon or in original-but-cut developer intent. Re: Greatrune of the Unborn - The slot represented by this "shape" in the Elden Ring seems to be one that represents "the rule of rebirth". This rule is not currently part of the Elden Ring at all, as rebirth is only available to us via Rennala herself.The one in the Amber Egg is being used by to birth-and-rebirth all the kids she would've had with Radagon, but they are all so frail and half-formed (a theme!) that they die immediately - in Rennala's phase 1, when she "rebirths" her sweetings, they turn to tombstones first. Malenia's great rune having the same shape means that it is an alternative "rule of rebirth" - in her case, it seems a continuation of life, through rot, into new life like butterflies and the bug things. Rot is not fatal, rot is a transformation. Miquella's great rune seems to also be rebirth - via metamorphosis, but it's unclear if we'll ever see it, or if perhaps it's already just part of Malenia's. I also just now noticed that Malenia's great rune looks like it has a golden needle piercing it, repelling the rot. I love this game. Good call on the DLC. I wonder if we won't meet a Fanatic of St. Trina, though, who we can help on his ultimately futile quest to find St. Trina herself, and then when he gives up and dies we can loot his clothes to find out about who made them!

[@Kardel_VA]

Glad to see this. Always love seeing new Elden Ring Lore creators.

[@ahhotep1833]

Very thought provoking, thoughtful and honest! Well done...keep up the good work! New sub here 👍

[@alblank1316]

Hey, I happened to listen to that podcast episode you did with Ratatoskr and then stumbled upon this video afterward. I'm so happy you decided to start creating content! I think that your thought processes, the way in which you lay them out, and the relation to outside materials and sources is well presented and explained. I would love to see a video in which you expand upon the conversations you had with Ratatoskr, specifically regarding alchemy. The way you related all of those alchemic principles and paralleled them with examples from Elden Ring was extremely interesting, and it would be great to have a visual component to that dialogue, as well as a fleshed out comparison between in-game information and the various alchemy related things you spoke about, such as gold and silver, the continuous cycle of breakdown/purification, etc. Also, I'd like to hear your thoughts on another outside material that I think relates to Elden Ring: mushrooms. There's been a lot of discussion stirring lately about it and I think that there are many undeniable parallels between various types of mushrooms and the ways they function and Elden Ring strewn across the entire game. Anyway great vid, keep it up!

[@darthacez]

Loved your video! Just subscribed!

[@bchase999]

I love you Crunchy, thanks for the new video

[@lukeisinthestudio]

amazing new video! also, re: the albinaurics! the haligtree is a haven for beings that were shunned by the rest of the world: the Haligtree in game is of course full of Misbegotten and the horn blowing guys with turban hats (who interestingly enough don't have legs and can't walk, bearing a suspicious resemblance to Albinaurics), as well as the knight Loretta, who is strongly hinted at being an Albinauric herself (she is only on horseback). The Haligtree was a essentially a promised land specifically for the Albinaurics. Albus and Latenna both mention it as such in their dialog from what I remember. I can't remember why Miquella cared for the shunned beings like that, but I love the connection you made about St Trina and how St Trina is a dreamed manifestation of Miquella. Maybe they appeared in the Albinauric's dreams as a way to beguile them? What a dense and complicated story we have here! Looking forward to the next deep dive.

[@CrunchyVideos]

Also interesting that the Haligtree welcomes 1st-gen Albinaurics but not 2nd, whereas Moghwyn welcomes 2nd gen but not first.

[@Brendonherring522]

@@CrunchyVideos interesting observation. Are there any other albinaurics in the haligtree area proper aside from Latenna however? Furthermore, while the 2nd gen albinaurics are definitely not in the haligtree area, they cover the northern side of the consecrated snowfields (where the 1st gen aside from latenna are relegated), and there is an albinauric that appears to guard the portal to moghwyn's palace. All of these groups use miquella's ring of light, implying that they are disciples of his. Furthermore, the 2nd gen albinaurics next to that portal that are laying down in mohg's domain are uncorrupted by blood, watched over by the red ones that are. It seems that a group of them may have gone after Mohg and the one was left behind at the portal as a sentry.

[@gooncave7905]

@@CrunchyVideos Id say that both are welcomed, as both are present in the consecrated snowfields and neither are present in the Haligtree proper.

[@matiasluukkanen7718]

As much as I like the idea of Loretta being an Albinauric, and searching place for her people, isn't her blood red? Except if crossbreeding between humans and Albinaurics can produce hybrids who still lose their legs but bleed red blood.

[@morrigannibairseach1211]

I think Ranni is a triple goddess with the Gloam Eyed Queen and Melina as different aspects. I think that moment of displaying her picture as a child of Marika is a hint to Ranni and Melina being the same person who as a whole was the Gloam Eyed Queen. Radagon and Marika are the same person so technically any child of Radagon is a child of Marika. Further is iirc Radagon took his kids with him when he went to Marika and became Elden lord. I think though that when the Gloam Eyed Queen died part of her went back to the Erdtree and the other went into the doll.

[@captainzork6109]

Thank you. Your search for connections, such as that water is symbolic for something very fundamental (perhaps the fact it's existence is a necessary condition for life), gave me some inspiration for a completely unrelated project I'm working on. On a more related note, perhaps water is a video you could do on. The albinauric "blood"line seems to have to do with water, and learning techniques such as the waterfowl dance seems to have to do with giving Melina strength and increased vigor - something the golden order (the "sun") could never do

[@ShirakiAkarin]

Great video! St. Trina being just a dream is really interisting!

[@keroppiix]

4:16 I don’t know if this was mentioned as a solution anywhere but I was just assuming that the whole “radagon is marika” thing might have retroactively applied to Ranni, thus making her offspring of Radagon and therefore also the offspring of Marika Last edit: Sol also means Sun so that might have something to do with godwyn’s being trapped in the sun

[@RadiantJo]

Talks about rebirth. Also mentions he will be talking about Griffith… Me: Oh noooooooooo.

[@jamesbutfiloski9044]

Great job on this video best elden ring lore video I've seen tbh. Well put together and a fuck ton of context.

[@whydondutale2myfase]

I am loving your content!

[@TheBlaringBlue]

Whew! Finally got around to watching this. Great stuff again, think this one was even better than the Helphen video. I'm impressed by your ability to find links to items and themes - sometimes you threw so many at once it did my head in! hah. Let's see what I can add... Miquella's Needles: You posed a possibility that they are needles in the flesh because they need to interact with blood. I'm wondering how much the needles are actually just leftover from the cut content - Miquella has dialogue referencing his last drop of dew (read: blood) and he is of course watering the haligtree with his own blood. The needle connections to fate and mythology were amazing. really great perspective. You also mentioned the needle we find in Aeonia is unfinished - I interpreted this differently. I understood this needle as holding off the rot, stalling it's advance in the body just as it does for Millicent. In fact, this needle we give to Millicent IS Malenia's original needle. In the story trailer when Malenia stabs herself she's actually pushing the needle out of her body, once again allowing the rot to overtake her. The needle falls to the floor at ground zero of the scarlet rot blast, which is where we find it. Millicent then has this dialogue at the haligtree church "There is something I must return to Malenia. The will that was once her own. The dignity, the sense of self, that allowed her to resist the call of the scarlet rot. The pride she abandoned, to meet Radahn's measure." She's actually wanting to return a tangible object - the needle. The blood and gold connection - especially in the beast blood description which mentions rot and decay - was eye opening and something I had not picked up on. I don't know if there's enough in game here to really build on, but it's really interesting. Lastly - want to drop one really great Miquella theory I've seen. It's my personal headcannon because I just think it's so good. Here it is: Miquella's SPIRIT is in the Haligtree, while his BODY is in Mohgwyn Palace. Ranni has already proven to us that your spirit can live separately from your body. She's also shown us that those chosen to be Empyreans but who don't want to be Empyreans may want to consider abandoning their flesh. Miquella's watering and embedding in the Haligtree was clearly working at some point until his body was kidnapped. Go back and watch both Malenia's intro cutscene and her phase shift cutscene from this perspective - it almost seems as if there is an unseen force in the room waking up and urging on Malenia. The camera also seems to pan in a way that suggests the Miquella-shaped root is causing this wind. This theory would also explain why Mohg's rituals aren't working - him and the formless mother very clearly have real power - but they only have the shell, the husk of Miquella's body. Without his full essence, this rituals don't work. You've been a great addition to the lorehunting community, Crunchy! great work again and can't wait for the next one.

[@jtillman8251]

I think the eclipse thing is about draining the gold from the sun. Perhaps the sun is the true source of unalloyed gold.

[@Upsideround]

Great lore video! Great work! keep it up.

[@Writh811]

This is a cool video with some great investigative and theory work. With regards to DLC, at first I agreed with you but then I thought about one of my more favorite DLC's: Artorias of the Abyss. The core Dark Souls game setup bits and pieces about the legend and we even fight his dog. All while learning why the area is called Dark Root Garden and what it use to be. I assumed St. Trina's sudden vanishing and not returning was a sign that Miquella was dead. If you remove caterpillar from its chrysalis rather than letting it emerge when its ready its body is gooey and it dies. Miquella didn't spin a new cocoon, that was the one he was in in the Haligtree. Mohg ripped it open and took Miquella (we can all agree he's very touchy with the lad) and likely had those who followed him take the cocoon. Then when they got home he stuffed in back in and crawled in with him. (I think they portrayed Miquella with the model they did so they wouldn't have to explain a defiled child corpse). Him being dead feels like the most Fromsoft way to end his story. Miquella put everything on the line for the shunned and in the end one of the shunned, his own brother kills him in a misguided venture for power. Mohgwyn will never come. The Haligtree will never rise. All because Mohg, the idiot, killed Miquella by ripping open the cocoon instead of just taking the cocoon like he was suppose too.

[@wpb5876]

Fantastic video. Just subscribed and looking forward to more content (and going back and watching older videos!) Just had a thought after listening to your section on Miquella and the Great Rune of the Unborn. Might it be a possibility that Radagon deliberately gifted Miquella's rune specifically to Queen Rennala to take care of, knowing that it is Miquella's rune, and Queen Rennala's love for children and her character to nurture things. - Radagon has a strong affinity to Miquella (from the various item descriptions) and also his relationship with Queen Rennala through their marriage. He would know full-well she would be someone naïve, or someone to trust, to keep Miquella's rune safe. This also fits with the theme of the "Cuckoo Knights" and their direct connection to the real life "Cuckoo birds" - who deliberately lay their eggs in another birds nest so that they are taken care of until they hatch - after which they take over the hosts nest. This type of manipulation coming from Radagon is not too surprising because he married with Queen Rennala for purely diplomatic purposes and left after his purpose was fore filled. Also, his strong connection to Golden Order fundamentalism is why he might hope to keep the rune safe by allowing Queen Rennala to look after it without she actually realizing what it is. The tragedy for Radagon though, is that Miquella later renounced Golden Order fundamentalism and took a different path to create the Haligtree. Having said that, it wouldn't mean that his rune would change and is still kept safe by Queen Rennala. Lastly, since the Rune of the Unborn has the power to change the nature of the character (aka respec) and gift a new life - this fits with Miquella's profile and why the Albinaurics and the Misbegotten flood to Miquella and the Haligtree, believing he has that power to change them. The tragedy being that when they arrive Miquella has been abducted and his Great Rune of the Unborn is with Queen Rennala. I doubt Mogh knows this either, and believes he has abducted Miquella - midst his cocoon phase - but he is 'runeless'. I'm probably late to the lore, and clutching at straws. I haven't checked the timeline fits either but was fun to think about! Thanks for the inspiration

[@wheelchazeal8089]

Woohooo! More lore! This was a great video.

[@TheChichirendan]

Great video, just subbed you deserve it. Wish you the best

[@gyanvarshnay8053]

Just wanted to say that the build of your character when talking to raani looks amazing. The site of grace shot just before highlighting the detailed armour is sooo aesthetically pleasing. Also using a parrying dagger is off hand - just wow!! (Vaati also came up with otherworldly builds, only possible in this game due to the dozens of passive (temporary or permanent) stackable buffs. This game really feels like a culmination of all the titles before it.) And if course the video is very engrossing as well.

[@fernandorayonhierro6947]

I hadn't connected Rennala's size and non-working legs with Albinaurics... this leads to headache lol However, my brain insists on finding meaning behind Rennala's rune being of the Unborn, even though what she does for us is Rebirth. To me Unborn speaks of those stories where the timeline gets rewritten and people who were never born in the new timeline cease to exist; so, long story short, by removing the concept of being unborn (the rune) from the thing that commands reality in the Lands Between (the Elden Ring) you make it possible for those who wouldn't exist in the new reality to remain. Thoughts?

[@CrunchyVideos]

Wild idea, not sure what to make of it. Should point out that it says it’s the rune of unborn demigods specifically, what do you make of that?

[@gooncave7905]

@@CrunchyVideos could this have something to do with the soulless demigods Marika is talking to in the dialogue you mentioned? My question surrounding these demigods is who were they born from? How were they created? They obviously have some link to Marika as they are demigods but who is the father? Perhaps the ‘Sacrifice’ Marika mentions if they make nothing of themselves means that she will rebirth them and hope they make something of themselves the second time around? Another thought I had surrounding it is could the word unborn be some sort of play on words? In terms of the sweetings in Renallas arena, it could be said that they have been un-born, as they have been rebirthed so many times they’ve lost their memory and such. This could mean that due to the fact they’ve lost all collection of their original selves, the individual has been un-born / deleted These are very loose thoughts I came up with after reading these comments so I am not held accountable for any dumbassery

[@fernandorayonhierro6947]

@@CrunchyVideos That would be that only demigods were immune to deletion, I guess. It's not really a theory to be honest since I haven't even attempted to make it fit other "intel" about the game. Sometimes something makes a spark in the brain and the brain itself tries to make sense of it. Like how at that moment when he picks up the hammer, Radagon's arm looked to me a lot like Alexander's arm, and immediately my brain saw Radagon and Marika becoming one by being turned into a stew and put inside a cracked pot lol

[@brotherclementine7706]

If the Unborn rune is removed from the Elden Ring, that may also be one of the reasons why people are no longer having children. It could also be what governs reincarnation too.

[@fernandorayonhierro6947]

​@@CrunchyVideos Sir, I'm doubling down on rewriting reality, but from a different perspective. Radagon is Marika. Go through every statue and every mention of one of them and replace their name with the other's name. For example ALL churches of Marika were churches of Radagon and had his statue and his sigil. Essentially I think Radagon was the vassal for the Elden Ring, he was the one that mattered most in the land, but then the Elden Star arrived and took over what was there, copying it to some extend... but in an idiotic way, because it didn't really understand how things came to be, only how they looked and how inhabitants of the land felt about them. Marika somehow made it into the tree, maybe with the sole purpose of shattering the Elden Ring, but in a fight she and Radagon made contact with the crucible and got merged together, and their lives got all jumbled up in the reality created by the thing we call Elden Beast, which I think is another idiotic interpretation of this space worm's mind: Elden because old ("I've been here since the beginning" even though it wasn't), Beast because there were beasts in the world it arrived to and it felt like a valid appearance for the origin of all life in this place. I got a lot more. Elden Ring will crack like an egg if you assume re-writing of reality. The underground are samples of what was actually in the surface at some point, and maybe Ranni created a night sky as protection to keep those pockets of history safe from being overwritten... but maybe this would imply Ranni knew an overwriting was coming, same with the egg being gifted to Rennala, to keep demigods from being deleted. Thoughts?

[@cigman777]

I always took the line “Marika’s unwanted children” as them saying that because they were soulless, they lived in death and thus were a blight on the Golden Order

[@MrShake77]

Really nice video. Super thorough 👌 ☀️

[@burter3154]

This video is rad! Thanks man.

[@daniellesmith7515]

in support of the Malenia is a shattered piece of Radagon; Radagon's left arm is immaterial, formed of shadow, while his right is whole. Malenia's right arm has rotted off and been replaced, while her left arm is whole. Each of these characters is missing an arm, but different arms.