Elden Ring Lore: The Original Sin

[@Stormking66324]

Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed the video! Let me know if you prefer this longer, more in-depth style of video or if I should stick closer to 10 minutes as I have previously.

[@llab3903]

Don’t feel the need to limit yourself. I’d listen to an hour of this

[@connorkenney6938]

Do bot. Choose one when you feel like a certain topic makes sense for a longer/shorter format. You actually taught me some super cool i haven’t seen from other videos, or if I did you explained it very well. Keep it up!

[@doofusrick5998]

Maybe the real original sin was the friends we made along the way

[@markholdgate]

Most under-appreciated Elden Ring lore channel.

[@PhilippLt7]

True

[@NorthstriderGaming]

So in essence, Marika's sin was that she separated life and death which need each other in other to keep the balance of the world. The Erdtree dried out and dies because it can no longer draw from the spiritual energy of the dead, hence, Marika started feeding corpses to the tree in hopes of keeping it alive. The Shadowtree on the other hand is enjoying an abundance of spiritual energy as all dead wash up there eventually. So much that it bursts and overflows with sap. She separated two conceps which resulted in creating two realms suffering in two ways: the Erdtree world is an eternal but motionless world, the Shadowtree world is a fading but overflowing world. The separation of these two sides of the same medal causes both realms to suffer and eventually perish. That's why the Elden Ring had to go. Marika knew she messed up so she had to hand over the reins to a tarnished to put things back together. I believe, the time when the Erdtree was dropping amber was before Marika split the realms. When the Erdtree was still one entity in an healthy world. It was only when Marika removed Destined Death that she would cast away the Hornsent and all her secrets, including her first self-conceived son to contain death.

[@AZ-px1bz]

This is Great bro, I have a very low attention spam so thanks for summarizing!

[@noamias4897]

Thanks for explaining the immortality situation. I've never understood why people try to make the lore's immortality match the gameplay perfectly-it just creates plot holes. In Dark Souls, we're told we respawn at Bonfires because we're undead, but why don't NPCs? In Bloodborne, we return at lamps due to the dream, but why do enemies respawn? And how can we die to Gehrman or the Moon Presence and still respawn in the dream-except in the ending where Gehrman kills us? Why can't they respawn? And why do others in dreams return to the waking world on death, but not us? In Sekiro, he's immortal in that being struck down doesn't kill him, but he doesn’t teleport to a Sculptor’s Idol after dying twice. The truth is, while immortality is a key theme in these games, it’s not meant to perfectly align with gameplay-and that’s okay.

[@weed_houze]

Standing straight proud Tree from Era of supposed "abundance of life " is dead, while discarded and forgotten grim misshapen Tree from literal land for dead to gather is alive and leaking with life. Miyazaki the Unrecognized Michelin chef

[@PabloRodriguez-no6zg]

Would make sense that the wars Marika and Godfrey did during the first stage of the Erdtree were not because people opposed it, but because the Golden Order knew the only way to power the Age of Plenty was with sacrifices through war?

[@sk8legendz]

A refreshing take, it removed the tunnel vision of immortality, the original sin being similar to the biblical version irl, and overall made clear the focal point of our purpose as the Tarnished and why any ending is accepted because an end in any form is whats needed.

[@MrWood-uy3xh]

In the beginning, marika, the eternal banished the hornset and all that stemmed from the realm of shadow. These are the roots of are world, and not matter how tender how exquisite. A LIE WILL REMAIN A LIE. Young lord knowing this, do you still seek to mend the Elden ring?

[@Greaseball01]

I think the gravesite plain must predate marika becoming a god though, because the description for the spirit graves says they're so old they've become spirits, and the suppressing pillar almost certainly predates Marika's reign, and I generally assume when it describes "the center of the lands between) it's referring the gravesite plains and cerulean coast/Charos heroes grave, because really the finger ruins, scadu altus, rauh ruins and jagged peak don't really have any relation to death and an afterlife in the same way that those others I listed do

[@BahtataT]

I loved the erdtree theory, it was theorized before but you put it in so much better words, it was so easy to comprehend, great job

[@koocherry793]

Very smart hypothesis with the difference between the golden and brown erdtrees. The difference being whether they're getting sufficient nutrients makes so much sense and explains it so well

[@mycology5242]

Great video. Glad I found this channel

[@alliesotherness9456]

Gonna get busy while watching this so I just wanted to comment and say thank you! Instant subscribe. I appreciate the work and narration and everything people like you do. Keep on keeping on!

[@Greaseball01]

Well technically we do see Radahn's body after we beat him - the talisman Alexander gives you has some of his red hair in it, implying it's some of his remains.

[@Stormking66324]

Good point, having to use Mogh’s body as a vessel seems to imply it was only Rahdan’s spirit which was pulled into the realm of shadow.

[@blakebennett3987]

Runes aren’t grace as explicitly graceless beings have it, like the albaniric, those who live in death, the horn-sent, midra, and that’s just off cuff Runes are probably fundamental to animated existence,

[@Stormking66324]

All runes aren’t grace, but all grace is runes if that makes sense. I think grace is a subtype of runes gained through the Erdtree’s sap specifically.

[@blakebennett3987]

@ I think runes are separate from grace. They’re too omnipresent to be specific to the Elden Ring itself or its influence. FromSoft is pretty good about incorporating mechanics. If grace was truly tied to runes you’d expect runes drops to be higher for Beings with grace then without it. But there isn’t a particular correlation. My general thought is that runes are universal and prerequisite to at the least animated, if not genre existence. They might even be the building blocks of ERs reality like the fundamental fields are to our own. Runes define the “principles” that things follow. The Elden Ring isn’t the source of all runes, but rather an insane concentration of them. Beyond insane, cosmic. So potent that it can govern the principle of world. Great Runes seem to be unique to the Elden Ring, and their dissemination to the shattering. But runes themselves not so much. My general thought is that the Elden Ring has been around a very long time, but couldn’t be changed. As a God Marika gained the ability to contain it within her own self, and change it, to split off sub-sections. But her control is crude. She can tear principles out of it (great runes) or add existing ones back in but not make new ones from nothing. Adding new principles requires a mending rune, and given their name most likely can only be added to a shattered Elden Ring. Who knows if that’s happened before. When incorporated they are presumably elevated to great rune status but that’s speculation.

[@blakebennett3987]

I’ve always been stymied though when it comes to why The Rune of Death, The Rube of the Unborn, and the Mending runes are named for what they represent and do, but the others are named after their holders. Perhaps what their proper names are is simply lost. But I can’t discount the possibility that most great runes are more nebulous and don’t represent simple ideas.

[@Stormking66324]

@@blakebennett3987 Fair point, I could see runes being “defining principles” as you said, but the game does clearly state in the description of every consumable rune that those runes are “the grace which dwelled within the inhabitants of the lands between”, pretty clearly showing that grace is runes. I do agree it could be more complicated though, and that Marika gained the ability to change the Elden ring, I just think this is what allowed her to bestow grace if that makes sense.

[@lorddervish212quinterosara6]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="923">15:23</a> Meaby one of the many purposes that the scorching of the Lands of Shadows had was to try to prolongue the age of plenty for some more time by feeding them the spiritually rich bodies of the Hornset and other Crucible touched creatures? Btw, when it comes to Metyr, I don't think she was the vassal of the Greater Will before the Elden Beast, I believe both had very different tasks, one was to be guardian of the natural order of the world given by the GW while the other was to communicate its will to the inhabitants of the Lands Between. I think the Elden Beast came first and later Metyr. One last thing, "Original Sin" obviously references the one mentioned in the Bible, in which man and woman disobey God and both are exiled from Eden because of Lucifer's manipulation. I think Marika's story got it backwards, she was the one to betray and kill the serpent and altering the natural orders out of her own volition, Snakes afterall are associated with cycles of death and rebirth, which are crucial for the world to function properly, and Marika's order seems to revil them. Curiously, a "base" serpent is trapped within Messmer, kept there thanks to Marika. Seems no matter what she does, the Outer Gods are part of the natural order, of the Elden Ring, of her. Edit: One itty bitty last thing; The "Fell God" is not only the Outer God of fire and giants but also of serpents. It is associated with destruction and rebirth, that's why its flame can burn the Erdtree. I personally subscribe to the theory of the great "Lava Flood" and that the responsible for it was the Fell God wiping the slate clean and destroying several civilizations with it.Meaby thats why the Hornset hate it, because it destroyed the previous civilizations that they consider more advanced than theirs, Rauh and Uhl. It could also be that the Lands Between's catacylsm was caused by the Elden Beast crashing down with a new Elden Ring after the last one was lost when the God of the Dragons fled, but we don't even know if there was a "first" Elden Ring or if the Dragon fled took the ER with him.

[@DjDolHaus86]

So if the erdtree flourishes on the souls of the dead, is it possible that Marika breaking the elden ring was an attempt to stir up conflict in order to restore the erdtree? Also maybe Radahns vision of never ending war was also of the same aim?

[@noamias4897]

I 100% with everything you said and I’m frankly surprised that it’s not the default mindset of the lore community

[@bigdrip4789]

Amazing video my friend . Subscribed 🎉

[@the1384]

That was a Great Video Please make some more

[@CJusticeHappen21]

We are just words in Marika's story.

[@kdstyle]

I’ve been thinking for some time that the people of the lands between do die as we can kill them, but the removal of destined death makes it so that they have longevity, not immortality, but when we defeat Maliketh, we release Destined Death and undo this. I also thought how the Erdtree is used to recycle life by making it so that the people are eventually reborn into new life after some. I like how you tie in that Destined Death only makes the Demigods immortal and we are immortal due to guidance, as well as how the Crucible fits into it all by being powered by spirits

[@Elden_Beastie]

The true Original Sin was Marika commiting child abuse and Radagon not paying child support to Renalla and the Carian Lineage

[@Stormking66324]

@@Elden_Beastie Try not to lock your children in a sewer challenge: impossible edition

[@lunamaria1048]

Every FromSoft souls-like game has respawning enemies, so we can level up. That is always a game mechanic

[@thorn.fieldnsta]

You video on the rivers is like my keepsake on all youtube, this one is really helpful making the Separation between The Lands Between and Shadow Realm somehow and what happened there when and why easier 🙏🏼

[@DoctorPecker]

I just want concrete answers to the myriad of unanswered questions and dots that are left without a connection. It seems as though we'll never get them. 😭😭😭

[@dannywest8843]

the game is enormous and extraordinarily detailed, but at this point it's pretty apparent that the connections are there, viable, and multifaceted.

[@antiburgerlicheaktion3820]

Thats the neat part. Little l hate more than a developer revealing the "true meaning" later

[@kylehodgson2182]

That's what Miyazaki likes though. Even though he himself might have a specific answer to all the questions, he'd much rather leave the gaps there so that we ourselves have to fill them with our own fantasies.

[@DoctorPecker]

​@@kylehodgson2182 I know, I know. I just keep wishing that someone will pick up on something eventually that would act as a missing link to tie the narrative together, definitively. I wouldn't continue searching for these lore videos, otherwise. Unfortunately, each lore video I watch doesn't seem to bring us any closer to the answers, at this point.

[@Coast2CoastFlyin]

About time someone finally addresses how death and rebirth actually works in this game

[@med1tron]

I see that it was not the "incomplete information" for Metyr and all other Two Fingers, but complete lack of it from the really ancient times, since then they all stopped receiving messages of Greater Will, or they never actually understood one's at all. And therefore engulfed the world in their twisted perception of the Will. I see that appearance (Big Bang) of the Will happened as of to oppose the primordial chaos, the unity of originally One Great. To have differences. And order of those differences. And the fingers, as also their mother, messed up at the task, bestowed upon them, and shared their twisted visions of order upon Marika.

[@agxryt]

I saw a video relating the erd tree to memories - as if it is memories themselves. I think it’s suggestion fits well with your assessments here

[@cpegalaxy]

Really amazing analysis!

[@PhilippLt7]

Whats your top 3 Favorite enemies from from soft

[@PhilippLt7]

Propably for me the red guards from Sekiro the the millwood knights and definitly the Divine Warriors at number One ( except the ice Version that One still hunts me in my dreams)

[@PhilippLt7]

Forgot the Omen

[@Stormking66324]

Good picks, honestly I’d agree but I’ll pick different ones, my top 5 is: Mimics (due to DS1 nostalgia/ptsd), the old hunters from the bloodborne DLC, the crucible knights, outrider knights, and those purple shadow guys in Sekiro.

[@PhilippLt7]

@@Stormking66324Yeah the First time playing ds3 when i came across One of the outrider knights i quit literally dies more to them than to any early boss in ds3

[@ReddAngry]

Yo! I can’t wait for the new DLC lore!

[@elidasilva5558]

Great video

[@sethrose1632]

Top notch content!

[@frostyjake8034]

Have you any thoughts on the Blood Star, the heretical god that is also a star with its own school of glintstone magic, blood magic. This entity has roots in sacrifice and worship, seeing as both blood sorceries are empowered by faith and only faith. In my mind I see it as a star stained unlike any other with red blood, making it feel more close to home. A star residing within the earth itself, possible brought during the cataclysm that bathed the Divine Towers in molten rock, washed ashore and sank the massive stone coffins, and likely brought an end to the Tians (the super-massive corpses half buried throughout the map) Being inside the planet itself would make it possible for all blood spilled onto the ground to one day seep down, eventually pooling in the Blood Star.

[@drainer983]

great video!

[@kylehodgson2182]

Amazing video

[@cjr1382]

So the purge in the lands of shadow caused abundance in the lands between and the wars in the land between caused abundance of sap in the lands of shadow?

[@Thelastdragon215]

No the land of shadows wasn’t separated until after all the wars. In the landbetween Has ended since we radahn knew messmer

[@kidlefty8627]

Question did merika instill her will into the elden ring

[@Stormking66324]

I’d say yes in that her will was to remove destined death

[@coroarc8423]

Crazy good theory!!!

[@niteshanthony2324]

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.❤❤❤

[@r3al1tych3ck4]

A reach but, I think that there is a walking mausoleum near every single minor erdtree, and the demigods inside them miss their head. Also St trina holds her head. I'd say minor erdtree is created by planting a head of a "faith" of demi-god (probably like St trina, radagon, GEQ.) plus bodies. Also Marika's head plays a lot of role in the ending scenes. So if minor erdtree is made by demi-god's head the tree in Minor Erdtree church (looks a lot like the tree in the shadow keep) might be made by a shaman's head + bodies... However the removal of the rune of death caused living heads :D.... So the dialogue between Marika and Radagon could be radagon and the head of marika or some combination of those pieces. It could also be that The last version of the erdtree is from melina's head. As her "faith" -the geq appears only after the tree is dead. St trina's head is in her hand also beacause the haligtree is already dead... There is no geq until frenzied flame ending because is the only scenario in which we see melina after the erdtree burned receiving her head(erdtree seed) back. Radagon's disappearing could be result of the idea that the crucible was made from his head and until burned and somehow inherited by the erdtree his being was "busy" being the crucible.

[@cptbl4ckscreen]

👍n' 🔔

[@viriel9946]

First six minutes and you've already ignored a dozen important pieces of information that contradict everything you're saying. But I'm going to keep watching, even though I know your information is unfounded, just to have one more point of view to call "wrong"

[@kuuja4345]

lemme hear it papi

[@GabyGomez-]

True. I didn't watch more than that. I almost vomited at all the contradictions he was saying.

[@Stormking66324]

Care to explain all these contradictions?

[@viriel9946]

@@Stormking66324 "Guidance of Grace is something unique to the tarnished"... Really? It's not like we have tons of lore saying this isn't true (Melina, Mesmer, Godfrey, Ranni, Rogier...) Grace comes from runes... So if I lose all the runes I can no longer appear in grace? That doesn't even make sense! Godfrey lost all his runes then? Next: And the remembrance of each Remembrance Boss? You're forgetting that little detail And about the dragon: Aren't these nobles expecting to be killed by the dragon because.. I don't know, IF YOU ARE BURNED YOU DON'T GET ABSORBED BACK INTO THE ERDTREE? There is tons of Lore talking about cremation rites and Ghostflame. As well as being eaten. And that was the first six minutes, I refuse to watch the rest again just to correct someone who doesn't know the basics of Lore

[@Stormking66324]

@@viriel9946 Sorry you didn’t enjoy the video. I do strongly feel that the guidance of grace we see in game is only seen by the tarnished (including Godfrey), but that grace itself is more widespread. The game clearly states that the consumable runes we pick up are grace, if you don’t believe me check the wiki. Not saying that all runes are grace, but grace that dwells within the eyes giving people eternal life is runes, and is probably from the erdtrees sap. Fair point that ghostflame was phased out, so fire might prevent souls returning to the erdtree, but that doesn’t disprove my theory.

[@saiuan4562]

I stopped watching after you said that enemies reviving is only a gameplay mechanic and not part of the lore. I completely disagree there. Miyazaki and fromsoftware are known for designing their games so that they try to fit the lore with the gameplay, rather than designing a story and then inventing gameplay elements based on story. A so called bottom up way of designing a game. This is what makes Miyazakis games so immersive. It is because every mechanic in the game has a lore explanation. Once you know this, you will start looking at the games a different way. in dark souls it was the curse of the undead preventing death. In bloodborne it was the hunters dream. In sekiro it was the dragons blood. In elden ring, it is grace reviving the tarnished. A story crafted to fit with the gameplay mechanic. Another example is how co-op is usually explained as beckoning people form other dimensions or timelines. The point i am trying to make is that a story element does not exist unless it has a gameplay element tied to it. The story exists to enhance the gameplay. The gameplay is never designed to enhance the story.

[@Stormking66324]

Totally fair to disagree with me on this! But if you kept watching you’d see I gave an alternative lore explanation for enemies respawning. Miyazaki does mesh lore and gameplay extremely well, but even still I don’t think grace can explain why some enemies like erdtree sentinels (which definitely have grace) do not respawn, while others do. To me it makes more lore sense that time passes and other enemies replace the old ones when we rest. A new shift of guards for example.

[@Wolf-bz6kq]

Sorry but all fromsoftware games death mechanics are part of the lore so theory flawed