Elden Ring Lore - The Tale of Messmer

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Shadow of the Erdtree is here, and with it, the stories of all those who reside in the Land of Shadow. This is the tale of Messmer the Impaler, and how he came to be exiled in this place...
Thanks to Reddit User the-eldritch-creep for their post on Messmer's parentage
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[@square-table-gaming]

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[@Fishc27]

Marika's enemies: Fire giants and the Fell god. Dragons, beasts and the hornsents. Whatever is associated with the rune of Death. Messmer and Melina, cursed by the fire giants and fell god, depicted by them being fire kindlings and only having a single eye (symbol of the fell god). Morgott and Mohg, cursed by the hornsent, to grow horns, tails, wings - The looks that Marika despised since her shaman tribe was slaughtered by them. Malenia and Miquella, cursed by the absence of death and cycle of life, resembled by one rotting(eternally in the late stage of life) and one in childhood.

[@cool2314]

since hornsent were her first enemy, marika probably thinks back on what they did whenever she encounters a new group of people and then wipes them out because she perceives them to be a future threat. also the fact that the hornsent seem to think murdering people and stuffing them into jars turns them in saints is wild and is what they did to marikas people.

[@michaelblevins1651]

Mesmer had two eyes but one was Plucked out not to mention the snakes that are literally apart of him there isn’t any mention of the fire giants his fire is different and might come from some differing Source such as how his armor says that his Marika wanted him to become a symbol of fear often which Fire does

[@Cman04092]

​@@michaelblevins1651naw, at least one item mentioned the fell god, but there are to many mesmer items for me to quote it at the moment. But I definitely know the fell god was mentioned in reference to mesmer somewhere. Also, his furnace golems have giants faces on the legs.

[@glogangglory]

Mohg nd Morgott are omen which is a curse from the crucible. I think its possible that “omen” is a derogatory term for hornsent considering the hornsent are from a time in which the crucible reigned.

[@blacktigerpaw1]

​@@Cman04092Is the Fell God represented by a serpent?

[@knutliheim1528]

He may have a sad backstory, but that is NOT an excuse to bully me for 10 hours 😭😭🙏

[@erikreber3695]

10 hours??? Straight?

[@A-1-Sawce]

Jesus Christ, seriously? It wasn't even 10 attempts for me what the hell were you doing lol.

[@kmsedgy2115]

​@@A-1-Sawceman that's so cool and impressive. 😐

[@A-1-Sawce]

​@kmsedgy2115 Maybe if you try really hard and practice you can be super cool and impressive, too (:

[@GodSlayerMael]

@@A-1-Sawceliterally took me less than 10 tries too 😂 don’t get why everyone says he’s hard

[@7heart476]

Messmer is basically the "Nameless King" of Elden Ring.

[@IneffableMentor]

Nameless King choose his path, Messmer was forced

[@puzzleheaded6195]

Uh Godwyn hello? Let me know if this sounds familiar: Firstborn son of a ruler with the previous being ruled by Ancient Dragons and befriends them to start a cult of warriors paying tribute. Also wields Golden Lightning and influences the storm.

[@7heart476]

I meant in the fact that Marika erased his existence from history like how Gwen did to Nameless.

[@soulemperor7620]

@@puzzleheaded6195 "Firstborn son of a ruler" We actually have no proof that Godwyn is her firstborn, for all we know the Omen twins could be older. Honestly, I think that Messmer is probably her firstborn. "influences the storm" Godwyn has control over lightning, not the storm, you might think I'm being pedantic, but storm and lightning are two very different things in Elden Ring. Lightning is linked to the Ancient Dragons and Placidusax, whereas the storm is associated with the Stormhawks and their Stormhawk King

[@puzzleheaded6195]

@@soulemperor7620 You’re right, it’s not definitive but Godwyn isn’t Omen as far as we know and it seems unlikely that she would continue to have children with someone who provides offspring like that knowing how she feels about them. I’ve seen that theory around a bit and it’s a cool idea but not likely judging from Godricks Great Rune that confirms Godfrey and his lineage were the first demigods. There’s many variations of Storms in the lore but the “True Storm” is present with lightning and it’s reinforced by the Old Lord Talisman and Placidusax’s arena. You also have the last remnants of the Stormclans manifesting tempest winds with Godwyns trademark Golden Lightning present, such as Commander Niall for example and Nephelis AOW on her Stormhawk Axes. If you look at Stormveil for instance, it’s Wind Erosion that’s causing a lot of the damage on it and it’s backed up by many things, biggest one being the winds always traveling east making direct contact with the Western Wall of Stormveil, where most of the mottling and thorns can be found(Also seen in the Margit boss cutscene). Nepheli when she talks about Godrick states “he’s tainted the very winds” because of his grafting and this is why all the exiles wear hoods that cover their faces with even the 1.0 claiming it prevents the “curse”(corrupted winds) from “slipping inside”. Another piece of evidence is the environment in the Chapel of Anticipation where you see the same thorns manifesting and the trees bending east. I assume this is the reason the Chapel is standing on a tall cliff with it deteriorating from the winds that originate in that direction. The Marred Leather Shield of course alludes to Godwyn being the source of the curse and it would make sense because he is know to spread corruption, was a lightning wielder and the heir of Lightning after Placidusax which is why he’s influencing the storm in Stormveil in his half-dead state. This is also why you find so many Godwyn items/monuments near Stormcaller Church Imo.

[@maize3201]

I just noticed that Messmer is actually a great foil to Miquella. All the trailers made Messmer look like a diabolical, genoocidal psychopath whose actions were so evil that he was erased from history. But in game he’s actually a pretty chill dude who was well liked and inspired loyalty from the people around him like Rellana and Commander Gaius, Radahn even looked up to him as a big brother. When one of his Black knights betrays him, he doesn’t have him tortured or killed like a typical villian would, he just imprisons him and mourns the loss of a brother at arms. He even has an entire clinic in his castle for treating and trying to cure the shaman jars. That same castle is also built in a way that hides and protects his mother’s village. It’s clear he only did evil things because Marika ordered him to, and it becomes really tragic that he was essentially abandoned by her and only realized it upon death. If he was actually allowed to be his own person and pursue his own goals and ambitions, I feel like he could have been one of the most revered demi gods, right up there with Radahn and Godwyn. He instead ends up dying alone and abandoned with no legacy to leave behind since he was erased from history. A fate that not even the omen brothers suffered. Meanwhile Miquella is said to be a beautiful kind hearted savior who in reality is a monster who only inspires loyalty because it’s literally his ability to enchant and manipulate people. He casts aside his humanity in order to become a god and seeks to enslave everyone beneath him under the guise of love. Fantastic Juxtaposition and misdirection on Fromsoft’s part.

[@VultureXV]

Best part is, Marika further demonized the symbol of the Serpent by telling Messmer to keep his wrath directed only to her.

[@Nosferatu66921]

Miquella is Griffith

[@leonardodelgado2111]

I have this feeling about him... We now know he was a victim as everyone else of his mother undoubtedly. But I feel he had a more important mission than what we see, and I'm still trying to figure it out so here I go.: Now we know the characters of TLB and LoS meet each other, they even hang around together sometimes. Renalla and Rellana are the same age, Gaius, Radahn Messmer, etc. So everyone knew Messmer, but nobody said anything about him anymore, so EVERYONE must know the LOS exist, but by painting him with all this blasphemous symbols of snake, fire, etc, she would make sure no one ever talked about it anymore, but why was she trying to hide it so bad? Somehow Marika in her master scheme... nailed almost everything she needed to, after all, she is a goddess. What if the cleansing fire of the lands between was trying to hide something else, to wipe out any record about how she became a goddess to avoid someone else doing so: Miquella. Marika would have known something was wrong with that charming boy, and he would become a real threat to everyone, so she asks Messmer to use his power to erase the LOS, at the same time she gets a bit of revenge for everything she suffered and endured with the hornsent and every other species, but maybe even she (or Messmer) took the caution of safeguarding some record to all that ever existed... the specimen storehouse preserved history and knowledge in stone, which actually can survive fire, had it been a normal library (as Midra's Manse) with paper books everything would have been burned away. Is a symbolic representation of Messmer as the keeper of the knowledge and history of TLB. Anyway, returning to why maybe this was the plot, Marika knowing Miquella's scheme scope and intentions could have figured out Miquella's original targets: Mogh and Godwyn (therefore the Moghwyn palace and dynasty would make sense), so she hurried up and got Godwyn killed. He was after all "as good as" Radahn: strong, brave, loved by many; he was the golden boy, his dead brought Marika down and started the Shattering, every demi-god parted ways.Now, Godwyn was (as far as we know) really close to Miquella, he even tried the eclipse thing to revive him, but his corpse was way out of use now and he needed someone as good fit consort as he was: Radahn, so he changed targets, but not plans. Messmer carried a huge importance lore wise and this would make sense (at least in my head). I know maybe there are loose ends, but I don't have enough time to read every artifact and gather every last piece of information so feel free (or rather help me!) to shape this theory or debunk it.

[@puzzleheaded6195]

M O N G R E L I N T R U D E R

[@Justin-sj1ed]

Tarnished: WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?

[@emaldon7]

Says the guy with snakes up his ass!

[@Ragel_Rachel]

Love how he says that

[@Dinugujon]

I thought it was Matt Smith for a second!

[@puzzleheaded6195]

@@Dinugujon He really does have a Daemon Targaryen aesthetic doesn’t he? Lol even his dragon is almost Serpentine and red!

[@idknemore525]

"Oh mother, this guy STINKS!" - Messmer

[@bloodangel7731]

He's no doubt my favourite character in elden ring now. Such a tragic figure, used by marika in a crusade and then cast aside and hidden because of a curse he was born with. All Messmer wanted was love and acceptance from his mother which she never gave him. Fighting him is very fun as well (even though he killed me about 15 times at this point)

[@abycarroll275]

See I didn't think Messmer was the son of Radigon, I was under the impression that she laid down with the Serpent from Mt. Gelmir. Like the Bible, her original sin was to be tempted by the snake. She performed the profane birthing ritual we discover in the curch of Eiglay. That's why Messmer's true form is the base Serpent. That's why Merika banished him and that's why snakes are considered blasphemous.

[@ousted0090]

And also, in Bonny village not too far from where you find the Oh Mother gesture…. There’s a shed snake skin coiled up.. you may be onto something

[@VultureXV]

"Base" also Means "Illegitimate" So having Messmer was NOT with a god or partner she was already paired with. She had Messmer behind another Gods back perhaps. I'm assuming that God found out. Its my personal timeline theory: Marika becomes a Goddess after besting a rival (potentially Gloam Eyed Queen) Marika becomes paired with the Horned God of the Sun (Look at the Furnace Icon, "Horned Fell God of Fire" was probably at one point a Horned Lion God of the Sun) Marika is tempted by a Serpent (potentially male aspect of Gloam Eyed Queen) Marika has Messmer out of "wedlock" Sun God finds out and is _pissed_ Horned Sun God tells the Hornsent of the "Jar Ritual" in order to make "Jar Saints" by having them butcher Shamans (Marika's people) Marika finds out and tells her bastard child, Messmer, to Crusade against the Hornsent. Horned Sun God so mad he legitimately _leaves_ which is why the Lands Between HAS NO SUN (and has no "sun" object in the messages) Marika establishes the first roots of Erdtree Order after the cleansing purge and has her personal symbol (the Tree) become the source of light. Sunflowers, once holy flowers of the Sun God, now face the Erdtree. Marika further punishes the devotees of the Sun God by _casting them all beneath the SHADOW OF THE ERDTREE_ in the form of the Banishment and the Scadutree.

[@donovan4222]

@@VultureXVthis makes sense except for its stated in messmers kindling item description that Messmer has a younger sister who is theorized to be Melina, so that would mean either they meant a half sister or Melina was also born with another father.

[@Aureilius2112]

I don’t think this is right. Messmer has Radagons signature red hair. The serpent of Mt. Gelmir wanted to destroy the golden order and therefore Marika. There’s no way. I think you relating Elden Ring lore to the bible is interesting but it’s pretty weak evidence.

[@abycarroll275]

@Aureilius2112 Red is usually a color you see on venomous snakes and in elden ring it's also associated with the primordial age of dragons before the time of the golden order. Radigon was said to have hated his red hair. Since Radigon is Merika's other self, that means the red was part of Merika. It's probably a constant reminder of Merika's original sin. The Serpent hates the golden order because Merika seduced it to gain power and then turned around and created a religion around hating it. The Serpent gave her the power to utterly destroy the people that killed her people, and then she turns around and sends an inquisition to destroy it. Melina, who is thought to be the gloam eyed queen, is also associated with snakes, the God Skins are all very snake like, and we fight the fat one right under the shed skin of the Mt. Gelmir Serpent. And last little thing, did you notice, Merika wears a coiled snake as a bracelet?

[@VictorIV0310]

It’s interesting that you can find one of Miquella’s crosses inside the Shadow Keep, implying that for whatever reason, Miquella entered the keep and may or may not have interacted with Messmer. Kinda weird how Messmer was just chilling next door as one of his demigod siblings is ascending to godhood with someone he was buddies with in the past becoming his consort.

[@donovan4222]

I love how everyone thought Mohg was kidnapping Miquella when in reality Miquella was using him the whole time

[@user-ux1iv6mb9d]

Messmer being the oldest Demigod makes sense. I’ve been thinking Marika just shipped him off to the shadowlands after he was born, but this makes more sense

[@kevinvolchok14]

I wonder who his father is tho...

[@MissChambersxo]

We literally see his spears impaling giants on the Mountaintops so he was there that long ago at the very least

[@RandomPerson28337]

He doesn't have one technically

[@rafsandomierz5313]

Radagon.

[@A_Black_Sheep94]

Messmer had to have remained in the Lands Between until Godfrey and his army were sent away otherwise he wouldnt have a clue what a Tarnished was.

[@nemesisundead83]

You know i would hate the be an enemy of Messmer, impaled, can't die, just hanging around wishing i could move on to my next life, heck with the rune of death removed I'm sure every victim of Messmer was and probably still is in massive pain that will never end...ever, I'm surprised the Frienzed flame hasn't taken the entire land of shadow, only one small section of it

[@VictorIV0310]

When you think about it, it makes a twisted amount of sense as to there seems to be so many spirits of people and creatures in the Land of Shadow and why Marika removed the Rune of Death from the Elden Ring; Aside from preventing more of those she cares about from dying and removing a threat to her power, it could also be to prevent anyone in the Land of Shadow from dying and thus, Messmer's crusade never ends. Marika hated the Hornsent so much that she didn't simply want them to die, she wanted them to suffer for all eternity, turning the Land of Shadow, their own homeland, into hell where the crusaders can brutalize, scorch and impale its denizens even when they've long passed into nothing but spirits, all the while Messmer's Shadow Keep looms over the land like Barad-dûr from Lord of the Rings and the Scadutree stands tall and mighty as the Erdtree's shadow, a constant reminder that the Hornsent are condemned to an eternity of brutality under Messmer's rule without even the benefit of an afterlife. Since every hell needs a devil, Marika chose her son Messmer to fulfill that role. On a related note, the design of the furnace golems seems to be a sort of twisted karmic retribution towards the Hornsent approved by Messmer and Marika. The shamans were mutilated, then stuffed into jars to become saints by the Hornsent so in response, Marika orders her son Messmer to wage a brutal, genocidal war against the Land of Shadow with his most prominent war machine being the massive furnace golems where Hornsent themselves are stuffed inside to serve as fuel for the machine as it marches over the land as an instrument of terror, destruction and mockery with its horned mask of the fell god of fire the Hornsent so feared.

[@robertpayne6781]

The suprise in his voice when he say "thou'rt... tarnished!". It conveys his feelings of being betrayed by his mother. Some graceless tarnished is Elden Lord while I, your son, have been abandoned.

[@timilehinodimayo9306]

Great video as always but I think you forgot to mention He’s guarding the secret of the Shaman village and the origins of his mother and the horrors they seen before her ascension. To me he’s the most tragic character in the game; more than Morgott

[@VictorIV0310]

It's pretty interesting to compare and contrast Messmer and Miquella when it comes to the loyalty and trust of their followers because while Miquella can earn genuine loyalty from people like Leda and Malenia, he's prone to using his powers of compulsion to maintain his followers' loyalty. On the other hand, Messmer seems to inspire genuine loyalty from his followers without resorting to power or coercion despite seeming like a grim, sullen demigod who knows nothing but war and slaughter. - Rellana renounced her royal title to swear fealty to him along with some Carian knights and sorcerers, becoming known as his loyal “Sword”. - Commander Gaius is one of his close friends who leads his ground forces. Despite being an albinauric who would normally be shunned by the Golden Order, he remains loyal to Messmer and holds a high ranking and respected position. - His Lordsworn soldiers and knights are devoted to him (With spirit of one going as far as being outraged that Marika has never embraced him). They've proven to be difficult enemies with many tricks up their sleeve, implying a level of training and discipline higher than even some knights in the Lands Between. - The Fire Knights, his personal guard, came from Leyndell’s upper echelons and noble families. It's stated they didn't mind being ostracized and disowned by their noble families back in Leyndell if it meant being at their lord's side, and tried to put Messmer's flame into themselves, to show their unwavering support. On top of all that, they did all of this knowing they’ll be shunned by society and erased from record with their deeds unsung and forced to wage an unending war without mercy or honor. They also have no real reason to stay in the Land of Shadow anymore. While indeed, they're trapped with having no way of knowing how to get out and despite being war weary in what amounts to uncounted ages of genocidal slaughter, Messmer's army remains rather organized in the Land of Shadow despite major events happening outside their reach. The Golden Order has collapsed, Queen Marika is imprisoned in the Erdtree and the Lands Between was ravaged in the Shattering, all before the Tarnished comes to kill any and all remaining demigods left. Messmer and his army could’ve deserted the Golden Order, splinter up and resort to banditry. Yet, even after all this time, they remained at their posts, unaware of the developments in the Lands Between, with little to no hint of any rebellion or mutiny aside from a few black knights such as father and son duo Andreas and Huw, respectively, who rebelled Messmer after discovering his “serpentine nature” and was imprisoned for it. Even after Messmer quashed their rebellion, he gave them an honorable burial and mourned for their loss. Not saying that their deeds should necessarily be seen as justified and honorable but it's certainly an interesting look into Messmer's character.

[@Toastergod44]

the confirmation of Melina being Messmer's sister also ties into the gloam eyed queen. Both siblings would have been born with defects, and Melina's vision of fire may have been the flame of destined death, which was gloamish purple (not blue like current ghost flame) until the rune of death (red) was removed. Melina, perhaps for similar reasons to why Messmer resented Marika, rebelled against her parents and was perhaps put down by Messmer alongside malikith.

[@Cman04092]

Melina is burnt and bodiless, is that not defective enough? Lol.

[@Cman04092]

Don't get me wrong, I think melina is GEQ, and definitely mesmers sister. I'm not against your theory or anything, it actually kinda matches mine and my thoughs how mesmer is probably a secret empyrian, and mesmer and melina are similar to miquella and melania, just not twins.

[@Ryuzaki280]

1. Ghostflame is not the flame of the GEQ the Blackfire from the godskin is the fire of the GEQ. 2.The GEQ Was an empyrian and was defeated by marikas shadow maliketh and i dont think marika let maliketh kill her daughter

[@Alcor-wf8gc]

​@@Ryuzaki280 Marika exiled and erased Messmer from history and threw Morgott and Mohg into the shunning grounds. She's not exactly the shining example of motherhood. Miquella got that manipulative streak from somewhere. I, personally, wouldn't put it past her to order her son and shadow to kill her daughter, especially one that threatens her rule.

[@doot7730]

​@@Alcor-wf8gc The theory i had is perhaps the GEQ was melinas 'other self' and only was half killed. My evidence is melina refers to her body being burned. Perhaps her other self was burned by maliketh. And is released apon restoring Destined death. She only reveals herself if you burn the erdtree with madness. As otherwise. Theres no reason for her to stick around.

[@xxartimisxx]

Did anyone else pick up how surprised he seemed that the player was Tarnished?

[@sqrezli]

Yes I did. He couldn't believe it.

[@TheCoulsonlax]

The naming convention of the Demi gods are hints at the lineage. That’s a George R R Martin staple

[@VultureXV]

I think a lot of people miss something. "Base" Serpent has a lot of potential meanings. Base can mean reviled or a lack of decency, but it also means _"ILLEGITIMATE"_ In this sense, I feel this is very, VERY critical to understanding Messmer as a whole. *He's a bastard,* literally in definition. Created out of wedlock (whatever that may mean for a God such as Marika) and unclaimed. This is why the Abductor Virgins show the iconography of Marika holding a bundled infant while being surrounded by snakes. Messmer, to me, was always more of a craftsman Demigod; having hand in making those gigantic Furnace Golems (most likely the Iron Golems we see in base game too) as well as the Smithscript weapons and other Black Iron armaments for his army. It would make sense that because we see the Abductor Virgins at the Fort of Reprimand _Messmer made those too._ However, the design portrays his critical wish: _He wants to be embraced by his mother._ This also potentially has some very striking concepts that Marika also, in one way or another, had a serpent within her in some manner too (considering the golem catches people with snakes). Possibly placing the serpent that was once within her into Messmer. Marika had a child with _something_ out of her bond with another greater being. Possibly infidelity on a godly level. This something also possibly sired Melina too. This _something_ appears to be tied to Fire and Snakes. Considering when this happened, this may also deal with the Original Sin.

[@VictorIV0310]

I thought Rykard gave some Abductor Virgins to Messmer as support for his crusade before he left to the Land of Shadow but your idea’s interesting nonetheless.

[@itseverydaybro5690]

Is it possible that when Godfrey was stripped from grace and marched for the badlands, he travelled through the realm of shadow and messmer killed him and that is why we see him impaled and crucified in the opening dialogue of the game

[@bravose7en]

Just woke up to this. Gonna be a good day.

[@angbald]

Today is the day I beat the final boss. I feel it.

[@antonironstag5085]

Messmer just wanted a hug 😢

[@cynreiusacari3163]

So did Mogh 😢

[@VultureXV]

Yeah, just look at the Abductor Virgin enemies :c

[@nemesisundead83]

There are a lot of questions that were answered in the DLC but i still have one unanswered question.....Turtle Pope, why is he the only one that can talk, why is he the only one we see, no pictures, no one talking about him, nothing (that i could find so far in the dlc) at all on him, Miriel the Unknown

[@square-table-gaming]

I honestly think it boils down to, "Miyazaki likes turtles."

[@Cman04092]

Thays the only question you have? I have like 1000. I keep saying, fromsoft dlc, expect 100 answers but 1000 new questions.

[@nemesisundead83]

@@Cman04092 shoot actually yeah he is now the most mysterious character in the game

[@procra5tinator]

Turtles were probably a part of the Raya Lucaria's culture and religion, we see them being referred to as wise beasts when solving one of the tower/rise riddles. Maybe there were others that used to live in the towers since Chelona and Testu’s Rise are taxonomic names of turtle species. Maybe Miriel was just the oldest one alive to represent the church Radagon and Rennala got wedded in.

[@VernonHuss]

What an amazing short and very very informative video about Messmer, THOSE STRIPPED OF THE GRACE OF GOLD SHALL ALL MEET DEATH IN THE EMBRACE OF MESSSSSSSSSSMER'S FLAME

[@randommortal3383]

Marika shouldve sent Rykard. He had no problem with mounds of corpses, was a Praetor and judging from the wepon he gives to Inquisitor Ghiza, he’s got no issue with toruture.

[@square-table-gaming]

At the time Rykard was not committing blasphemy. Mesmer was blasphemous from his very birth and Marika wanted to hide the land of Shadow and it's history permanently. Mesmer being born there was her last time to the land and something she wouldn't necessarily want people knowing.

[@randommortal3383]

@@square-table-gaming im just joking. Renalla would have never allowed it. They just happen to be Snake Bros is all

[@maiaf1995]

Messmer lore is as sad and tragic as Godwyn and Radahn. These three characters were good loyal sons to Marika and the Golden Order. All of them have their own heroic legendary tales that helped establish the Golden Order and made a name for themselves yet each one of them met an awful ending. Godwyn was assassinated in Ranni plot turning him into a hideous monster ever-evolving, Radhan fell into Miquella plot becoming a shallow puppet for Miquella to be a god and Messmer obeying his mother order crusading and genociding not knowing he was abandoned and erased from the history books. he looks tired just sitting there, he drag his feet to fight you. he's sad lonely and doubtful. like he's questioning if his mother will ever answer him back waiting on her signal for eternity.

[@user-fw3sz6ru4t]

Are you gonna explain about the Jar People? And their sick bays?

[@square-table-gaming]

Eventually yes! Our format focuses on one topic per video and we do deep dives on characters and stories so my list is pretty long. When we were first getting started I used to do polls to see what topics people wanted to learn more about first. I think I may do that again!

[@briang2472]

Just beat him today. Another in a long line of great, sympathetic, and tragic characters dreamed up by Miyazaki and his team. Bravo!

[@Cman04092]

Im gonna assume melina and mesmers dad is radagon, it fits too well. Mesmer, cursed by serpents. Melina, burnt and bodiless. Melania, rot. Miquella, forever child. Also, assuming melina is the GEQ, which is likely imo that makes 3 of the 4 empyrians. I'm betting mesmer is a secret empyrian.

[@iSmartMan1]

Amazingly, you're the first person I've seen make the possible connection between the text in the scroll and the relationship between Marika and Radagon. I've been following that thread as well, but I feel there's a lot more potential depth to it to dig into.

[@efaristi9737]

I wouldn't say Marika banished Messmer for selfish reasons, the remembrance said she was afraid of Messmer snake

[@eljaggerstanleynintendo917]

Wait! So Radagon was the snake Marika killed in the story dlc trailer! (There's a video from timdiggity speculating she's taking those golden strands from a snake head, and Radagon is an anagram for "a dragon). She killed Radagon, took her soul and became the vessel for him, her Lord! "A lord will usher in a God's return, and the Lord's soul will require a vessel"!!!!

[@Jawwhn]

I don't know if this anagram theory is something to rely on as it seems a bit too simple and kind of childish, I think it's intentionally there to throw you off as is the Souls way. Marika and Radagon are based on Rebis, the divine hermaphrodite. Radagon being the red king (Spirit) and Marika the white queen (Material/Physical).The dragon is actually a third entity required to combine the two so I don't think he was a dragon given he represents the Red king. The trailer may depict them fusing together though in an interpretation, and I do think the thing she gets the threads from is perhaps some sort of Dragon. One of the stages of Rebis unifying is putrefaction and purification. I find it interesting that's St Trina's knights title is named as such and Miquella being 'pure' with unalloyed gold - he's trying to repeat what happened with Marika. I don't think it's as cut and dry and a direct copy of the Rebis but it does seem to all match up if you look into alchemy.

[@wizardvrse7338]

I love this theory but the burning question is- what IS the Base serpent? If it’s the immortal serpent, how did this happen? Did Marika perform a ritual? I think it’s beyond interesting that Numen have a “moldable” flesh. If Marika created the Erdtree and became the de facto Goddess of the Lands Between, I wonder if her children being afflicted is just the Numen side being imbued by all the Gods/Powerful entities that are also influencing the Lands Between. The best way to defeat something is to utterly control it. How do you truly control something without first taking it into yourself? Or if the Erdtree is truly what is giving power….then the roots itself could be what is causing the corruption in her bloodline.

[@mreboric8406]

The battle was interesting. He both begs forgiveness from his mother while also cursing her at the end when a "lesser" beats him.

[@AegisKHAOS]

It was never a question for me who the father was, only a question of when Messmer was born. The fact Radahn was looked as being younger, despite seeing some proof in the Mountaintop of the Giants, was a bit of a surprise. Nevertheless, I always figured that Radagon was his father, no matter when in the timeline he was born. Also in the camp of Melina being his sister as well. The trailers made Messmer out to be a tyrant, yet between the lore we read and the cinematics in his boss fight, he seemed more like a man crushed by burden. So now I can see how he would be considered a legend and a heroic figure in the game, and like the other demigods, Miyazaki did too good of a job in tearing him down.

[@tuckddd9]

I wonder if Messmer and Melina inherited their vision of fire from Radagon with his giant heritage? But if that’s the case, why didn’t Miquella and Melenia? The Fell God must be playing a bigger role in sote than we’re seeing (or at least I’ve found) (spelling)

[@square-table-gaming]

I would assume it's due to the outer gods they were touched by. Malenia by the goddess of rot and Miquella by an unknown god.

[@tuckddd9]

It seems like Messmer’s flame is related to the Fell God, the furnace golems are his toys and what else would they be powered by but his own flame? At the same time they’re decorated in fire giant heads (and a dragon??) and the furnace visage is depicting the Fell God (with horns???). Messmer and Radagon “despise” their flame and red hair, respectively. Messmer’s orb looks an awful lot like the flame of the fell god orbs. We also see the Base Serpent with the orb in its mouth that then uses it to attack, which calls back to the devourers scepter wielded by Bernahl, which describes “A vision of the future briefly seen by Rykard in his final moments before being devoured by the great serpent.” Maybe this is some kind of bigger cycle in Elden Ring? The visions of flame and then the vision of the serpent consuming the world?

[@tuckddd9]

@@square-table-gaming and that’s another big one I’ve wondered about, what is the source of Miquella’s affliction? I got shot down hard on Reddit one day for this one so don’t take it in a weird way lmao, but I was kind of starting to think it was some kind of fertility goddess, and that’s why he has these powers of abundance and was in touch with his femininity. To me that could be one of two “outer gods”, either GEQ, who idk if we can say is an outer god but clearly at least influenced Melina in some way, or maybe the Formless Mother? It’s kind of out of left field I know but a video about how Lugh from Celtic myth might be a reference point for Mohg and the FM kind of convinced me (I forget the channel but it isn’t hard to find), and things like blood-tinged excrement description tell me that all the blood and stuff is just a catalyst for creating life, kind of a twisted way to look at fertility but it’s like fertilizer for plants lmao. The DLC kind of makes me drop that theory, and maybe Miquella is just like Marika, and St. Trina is his equivalent to Radagon, but I haven’t fully discredited it yet.

[@Cman04092]

Don't forget that the mesmer and melina, the 2 related to fire, are both missing an eye, give them 1 eye. .might be coincidence, but it's definitely worth noting with all the other info we have.

[@Cman04092]

​@@tuckddd9I dont know which outer god, but someone else mentioned the twins relate to life and death cycle. Melania with the end of life, forever rotting. Miquella with the beging of life, forever young. Not sure if it really means jack shit, but thought it was a neat angle.

[@PrinceTrunx]

The thorns you get on the floor before him tear him apart lol

[@Randomdude89640]

Marika and radagon third child backstory is so tragic. He just went to please his mother

[@Hugo_Tate]

maybe messmer is where rykard got the idea of the serpent

[@Aureilius2112]

Radagon was always Marika. That’s why Messmer was born cursed by the serpent. Just like Malenia and Miquella were also cursed. It’s because they’re all born of one entity.

[@aria5614]

When i get ahold of this game and finally beat him I WILL RP the rest of the game as Mesmer going after revenge on his Mom.

[@PlatFormerlyKno]

Messmer, Complaints Dept. Lead

[@edgarduran8382]

Been following for awhile now, your team never disappoints!

[@square-table-gaming]

Thank you!

[@The_One7117]

I reckon what happened was Marika fell in love with her twin brother radagon. (If you know how biology works then a parent who is a twin is more likely to have twins. And it doubles with 2twin parents. Which explains marika having so many twins) And secretly chose to have him as her consort against his will or say. So she could ascend to god hood. Binding them. (Not in the same body though. That happens as a punishment when she shatters the Elden ring) But she was pregnant at the same time so there children were born demigods. But cursed Demi gods. Mesmer born with the abyss snake outer god inside him. Andhe killed his sister in the womb but marika preserved her somehow. And well radagon being pissed off at marika for binding them without his say so he left her and chose to not be Elden lord. But they were still bonded in a way. But this still left her with a true consort so she chose Godfrey.

[@kellycoughlin-tran1215]

I always thought the term “consort” was interesting. Not spouse. Not king or queen. Just consort. I tend to agree that Marika was married off to someone long ago whether or not it was of her choosing. Perhaps her first marriage candidate is still in the land of shadow, impaled and burning somewhere. Or that the Shaman women weren’t supposed to marry. Then she is forced to work with both Goldwyn and Radagon. That is why there aren’t true marriages only consorts and all of her children are cursed perhaps except Godwyn- because they are bastards. Tho maybe he just had a curse the world doesn’t know about.

[@ilnessuno]

Messmer did for Marika what Rykard did for the golden order. Hiding and working in the shadows so that everyone can live in the light.

[@chrisgoods]

That was really well put together and easy to follow... thanks for your work, thoroughly enjoyed it !

[@QuandaleDingle-mm2rc]

Amazing lore analysis on this character after finally beating him

[@FullmetalSP1]

Messmer has the same backstory as Hela from Thor: Ragnarok.

[@darongates5948]

Yo, I was just thinking this ! Lol

[@colddash5598]

Have you or anyone ever done lore about the smaller enemies practicing gravity magic at the Crater-Pocked Glade north of Oridys’s Rise? They have odd clothes and mask that no one else wears, unless I’m mistaken it is not droppable either. They are obviously followers of one of those big space guys but thought the glade itself may be also a lore point possibly. They use an almost Radahn style buff sticking their sickle in the ground and collecting rocks. Who are they, what are they doing, how and why are they there?

[@square-table-gaming]

We talk about then in our video on the Alabaster lords!

[@Tru-the-Dreamtraveler]

It took me 2 tries on him and by phase 2 i felt like a complete villain i was like wait what hes in pain his eye the snakes while also fighting him he died so fast i was left there alone like what did i just do

[@CharLacey]

Been waiting on your dlc lore vids.

[@square-table-gaming]

More to come! We typically do 1 a week but I'm pushing for 2

[@trigoyouramigo5973]

i was waiting for thissss!

[@TheScrootch]

Personally I think Marika was selected by the fingers to be an empyrean, thus she became a God. Which probably was all fine and well for the hornsent. Then she probably had her first set of kids, which probably was Melina and Messmer. Out of hatred for what the hornsent did to her people she send out Messmer in a plot of revenge. As for Melina, I still think she's the gloam eyed queen. There's ash in Leyndell, which I suspect was because Melina may have burned the Erdtree the first time and that's probably why Maliketh got rid of her. So that gives us 2 children born with curses, one cursed with the base serpent and one cursed with the God slaying black flame, both a big threat to the Erdtree.

[@fonnyjootball512]

such a great boss fight. love the dialogue as well

[@drewhessler4698]

Been waiting for this

[@Courier604]

Im not sure we I can agree that Messmer ever set foot in the lands between, OR, if he did so, I cannot agree he did so as brazenly as suggested. Messmer’s actual name, is never once uttered or alluded to in the lands between. His remembrance directly states that Marika hid her “child” away within the realm or shadow. It wouldnt make sense for her to do so and then have Messmer come back to kill the fire giants etc. Tl;dr: i dont think there is ample support to suggest messmer ever set foot in the lands between after marika brought him to the realm of shadow

[@jkbell87]

I wonder if Marika also wiped Melina’s memory to remove any chance that she would mention her brother to the tarnished.

[@nameless458]

Even if thats not the case, why would she mention Messmer? He is hidden in SOA for thousands of years, before the shattering occured.

[@darklordauron]

With what I am seeing so far, I think Messmer and Melina are siblings. There are enough lines to pretty solidly confirm that.

[@Tina93_]

14:31 I feel sad he didn’t even have a great rune

[@VictorIV0310]

Likely because he was in the Land of Shadow when the Elden Ring was shattered so he didn’t recieve one. However, an item description says that the ring’s shattering was felt by the denizens of the Land of Shadow which they assumed to be the Erdtree’s wrath.

[@LoafofSourdough]

Loved this. I feel like you summarized the story of Messmer beautifully. Would it be too much to ask if y’all could put out a video on the Lion dancers and the dancer-to-be Lion warriors? I just love the culture they got going on and I think you guys would do great job at presenting it. Pretty please??? As always, please don’t eat me and I’ll stick around to watch the next video no matter what it is ❤ I hope y’all have a good rest of your weekend 😊

[@square-table-gaming]

We plan on diving into a LOT of stories from the land of shadow so stay tuned!

[@LoafofSourdough]

@@square-table-gaming Awesome! There’s so many great stories in the shadow realm, I can’t wait for you to bring them to light. Until then, take care!

[@trigoyouramigo5973]

could you make a video based around miquellas overall plan and the steps he took and the goals he wished to achieve

[@JohanvanCaemforexus]

There is room for 1 more DLC since you have "The Lands Between" and the "Land of Shadow", where is the other piece of land the lands between is between? This leaves room for "Land of Light"

[@jvillain9946]

So if the Shadow land lies beneath The Lands Between, what lies above it? It is The Lands Between after all.

[@ademk4760]

Wait if messmer is the son of marika and radagon and was born after their marriage then who is the result of the affair that was talked about in one of the dlc trailers

[@square-table-gaming]

The golden order itself

[@drfrankendoodle]

Finally finished the dlc and can watch this

[@justinrichards6302]

I think Mt gelmir originally belonged to Messmer b4 the crusade. Then given to rykard. Also the imagery of snakes in elden ring is also considered blasphemous but why, because of the same reason Marika sent Messmer away

[@elijahherstal776]

I don't think Radagon was Messmer's father. I'm pretty certain it was actually Patches.

[@attroenergizer8115]

dayum lets watch this

[@da-rj5cs]

Such a good video thank you for sharing

[@square-table-gaming]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@wizardiez6830]

Im pretty sure if miquellia could have had st.trina be the Lord that is required to become a god like you suggested marika did with radagon, he would have. It's the easier "kinder" thing to do no one, but him is involved. I would sooner think the seduction affair and betrayal has to do with midra, from the golden order using gold and the frenzied flame being gold in colour, i think melina and messmer are the child of midra and marika and the reason they are the flame related children. there was no greater will to begin with it was always the frenzied flame the reason the finger mother thing hasnt heard from the greater will(frenzied flame) is because its lord is sealing himself as we find midra. This is why the frenzied flame is the true ending, which is finally the flame taking back everything that it itself was used to create.

[@wizardiez6830]

Midra had nanaya who was with child, possibly the tarnished (another mad theory). marika, however, while in the shaman village kidnapped from the numan place, used the midra the escape and become a god but left him once she gained power, modra being left is constantly trying to gain forgiveness from nanaya by enduring the pain until we show up marika from this relationship births the twins messmer and melina (notice how they both are related to flame and when messmers second form starts the gapping hole in his head looks like the centre of the frenzied flame head centre a black abyss).

[@square-table-gaming]

Trina is literally Miquella's "love" and was always a piece of him, I believe Radagon and Marika were separate before the ascension. I don't believe Midra and Marika are directly connected in any way or we would have been given solid descriptions alluding to this, but it's a fun theory. My issue with the flame motif here is that Elden Ring uses color very deliberately. If Messmer or Melina's flames were in any way related to the frenzied flame they would absolutely be yellow and not red.

[@JanRZB]

I dont think we fight him at his strongest since he’s already missing an eye

[@square-table-gaming]

Really we don't fight any of these bosses at their strongest.

[@JanRZB]

@@square-table-gaming definitely not, i really wish we could of seen them at their strongest

[@alexhightower4040]

I was hoping for a Godwhyn dlc but this is sick too

[@user-ce4yj9wh5k]

marika seduce and betrayed gloam eyed queen as radagon but she kept messmer as a child. And it not as simple as it sounds it was long term Mastery plan by marika.

[@SA98II]

The fact that this channel hasn’t reached 100k subscribers upsets me 😫

[@square-table-gaming]

That is quite literally the dream

[@Try_Hard_Dad]

I dont think radagon is Messmer's father I think the abyssal snake is, as the "original sin" hinted would make sense to be Marika as a stand in for biblical Eve and the snake (abyssal) tempting her from the garden ... quite literally of eden where her home was in the place beyond the statue.

[@nothappyboi9453]

Was able to beat him with 12 fragments Ng+5 at lv 215 with a strict Guts build in around 20 tries (I had to stop getting greedy lol he will punish with a combo just stick and move) but I had to drop it to play with Messmer’s spear. One of my favorite weapons for some reason. The ash of war is nice but maybe it more to do with our battle and how I’ll end this nonsensical war myself using his weapon

[@eddieford9373]

So if mesmer is a child of marika and radagon. And he was born with interference from another god (the blasphemous serpent) that would make 3 out of 4 of their children born as emperions with outer god meddling. So what was Melina's affliction?

[@darealdovahkiin3652]

You absolutely cooked with this one

[@square-table-gaming]

I appreciate it

[@darealdovahkiin3652]

@@square-table-gaming I’m super excited for more of your upcoming videos. You give a clear structure to your interpretation and I like how the subject is focused in a way that doesn’t necessarily spoil all the events of the DLC at once as currently I’m just past Messmer

[@figo3554]

Well I understand the sore and scarseals now

[@CrazyAce777777]

Its so weird that no mention of Messmer exist in base game when he apparently is old enough to have a older brother relationship with Rhadahn which is part of the 2nd main union

[@square-table-gaming]

It's intentional. Marika did not want people to know about him.

[@James-9999]

Land of shadow tied to the crucible?👀

[@b14ckc0p]

Messmer’s left eye is purple

[@cgzepp]

Messmer is just Shinji Mikami with snakes

[@louieaceves20]

What is the base serpent and where did it come from? Why are all of Marika’s children cursed ? 16:04

[@ilejovcevski79]

An interesting hypothesis, i'm afraid i can't as of yet provide more insight, as i am yet to fully explore all the land of shadow. Did beat the guy last night, nowhere near as bad as some people make him out to be. Maybe people have become too dependent on wikis and meta knowledge to play these games?

[@paschen1791]

Correction. Radagon didn't exist till the end of the war against Giants. Marika was cursed with red hair that she hated and casted that part of her aside creating a new entity.

[@square-table-gaming]

This was a popular theory for a long time but there's no proof of it

[@EmitNen]

Messmer sounds similar to Matt Smith from House of Dragons

[@robertpayne6781]

Did you create that Mesmer at the end? If so, bravo!

[@square-table-gaming]

That's our artist Pat Gee!

[@TheGman567]

Is there some relation between Messmer’s serpent and the one Rykard is eaten by? Messmer’s flame and the flame of the blasphemous blade ash of war seem similar. I haven’t played SOTE yet watching a couple lore videos got me thinking and I might be just missing some stuff because of that.

[@square-table-gaming]

There are theories regarding this but nothing concrete

[@wardawgjb3376]

I’m so fucking happy other ppl think this too

[@wardawgjb3376]

Also I believe Melina’s curse has something to do with her gloam eye

[@twelve11]

10:09 Preferred the original dialogue delivery from the trailer

[@christophermurray9581]

But does the removal of his eye to remove the serpent, and yet powers of fire mean he was part blasphemous serpent and part fell god?

[@ixiahj]

Interesting no connections found yet between Mesmer and Rykard. The snake is a symbol of the enemy of the Erdtree. They are both snakes granted Rykard is a snake outer god.

[@IneffableMentor]

14:05 The fact O’Mens had their great rune and he did not is weird…

[@square-table-gaming]

He was already in the Land of Shadow during the shattering. There was no way for him to receive a great rune.

[@HiFiAwardTour]

I just want to say your channel name is so clever but simple

[@square-table-gaming]

thank you!

[@blackout7136]

Need that slider for Mesmer you have at 13:44 :)

[@square-table-gaming]

I promise there are better haha

[@TFordD]

Damn Melina and messmer were unwanted

[@thekingtm760]

Any thoughts on the giant serpent seeded skin outside of Bonny village? Its appears white which makes me think of the god devouring serpent but since it’s sheddd skin that could just be lighting. It’s hard not to feel there’s a connection since Bonny village is where the Shaman would have been tortured and Marika might have either been there or seen the atrocities? Idk it’s just such a specific place to find that giant snake skin

[@square-table-gaming]

I think it plays into the idea that Mesmer has used the base serpent before. It's also possible that since the land of Shadow didn't used to be disconnected from the lands between that the god devouring serpent had been there before.

[@thekingtm760]

@@square-table-gaming that makes a lot of sense. I kept trying to make sense of the land of shadows placement on the map since the DLC doesn’t make entirely clear but the tower claiming to be the center of the lands between makes that line up well. I also subscribe the the Radagon is the father theory but something in me can’t help but think about the parallels with Marika and Jesus and Eve committing the “first sin” with the serpent much the same that Marika does. (Sorry for the ramble all these stings are pulling too close to not have something there lol)

[@square-table-gaming]

@@thekingtm760 no worries we want rambling! My favorite comment sections are the ones flooded with theories

[@onepiece666]

@@thekingtm760Marika bred with the serpent to obtain power to survive/enact her revenge against the hornsent. Similar to what Rykard did, and their children have both human and snake features/transformations

[@rudydaberry122]

My question is why is all of merikas children cursed? What’s the reason?