Elden Ring's Secret Story of Minor Erdtree Church! | Lore

[@square-table-gaming]

Love this theory. The implication of the double helix is very interesting and repeated imagery in this game should never be ignored.

[@frankiefromky]

A-Yo!! STG in the house!! What's Up? Let's GO!!!

[@square-table-gaming]

@@austinbuchanan415 if Ziostorm wants to give me their lore sure thing. Jokes aside that'd be a fun collab.

[@Galamoth06]

They had electron microscopes in the Lands Between?

[@2009samiy]

youtube mary and jesus in the quran and mohmmad in the bible and the Torah and the scientific miracles of the quran and mohmmad in hindu scripture

[@punkyrockerz]

I like the theory, but there is something you missed. You can travel below this tree to the Sealed Tunnel, which leads to the Divine Tower of West Altus. Inside the Sealed Tunnel you will see roots all over the place with the same gold tint as this unique minor erdtree. At the very bottom of the cave in the boss room you can see these roots as well as an altar built around a meteorite. I think that this Minor Erdtree's roots having access to these rare minerals might be the cause of its unique state.

[@Ziostorm]

Ah good point

[@Neptunequeen42]

Damn that's a great catch. TA recently theorized that the greattree/erdtree itself is growing on top of a giant meteorite impact, so this would be a fantastic corroboration to that whole theme.

[@DanielGarcia-rx3kt]

I wonder if Miquella could have grabbed a Golden Seed and deliberately planted it here since there's a small phantom tree with Golden Seeds directly down the road from the Church. The implications of this makes me wonder if there is a sort of meteorite for the Haligtree as well. Or some sort of substitute for it.

[@Ziostorm]

I had mentioned a meteorite affecting the Erdtree way back in the mushroom theory video. I’m not sure it is applicable to this minor Erdtree since it’s planted within the church

[@punkyrockerz]

@@Ziostorm Check out those roots in the Sealed Tunnel. I'm certain they have something to do with it.

[@mikedelgrande5296]

I’m not sure if anyone else has made this connection but the Erdtree “replacing the sun” and pouring its light onto the land is very reminiscent of Tolkien’s Golden tree of Valinor that was essentially the Sun. It was one of two trees. The Silver Tree which represented moonlight and the golden tree representing sunlight.

[@MK-vi2cm]

This comment deserves some more attention

[@DanielGarcia-rx3kt]

I've theorized the Sun may be a physical manifestation of the Greater Will like the Moon is for Flora, the Moon Presence in Bloodborne. When you check out the platform of the Isolated Divine Tower you can see that the pillars are broken in such a way that a meteor flew through it. If you center yourself on the platform you can see the reflection of the Sunlight in the water on one side and directly behind you is Farum Azula in the exact center of the hole in the pillars of the platform. I think that the Sun literally shot out the meteor holding the Elden Beast into what is currently the base of the massive twister housing the Placidusax arena. This is why Farum Azula is the Seat of the Sun mentioned in the Sun Realm Shield description: it is always daytime in Farum Azula because the meteor containing the avatar of the literal Sun crashed there. Also, the design of the tower of the castle on the Sun Realm shield mirrors that of the massive pillars of graves surrounding the arena of Placidusax indicating you may be at the top of that tower of that castle.

[@oppressorb7196]

This can't be coincidence. I think your theory is spot on. I'd go so far to say that we might see the Silver Tree in the DLC.

[@mikedelgrande5296]

@@oppressorb7196 oh man that would be awesome. I’ve also thought the Carian Moon lore and Erdtree parallel was reminiscent of the two Trees of Valinor. In Tolkien the two trees mirrored one another similarly to how The Golden Order and Carian Royal family mirror one another in Elden Ring. I think there’s something there

[@oppressorb7196]

@@mikedelgrande5296 To every living being, and every living soul. Now cometh the age of the stars. A thousand year voyage under the wisdom of the Moon

[@BastosFC2]

If you want some ideas for future lore videos there are 2 things im curious about and never seen covered on KZbin. 1- The Bellum church, the only church in the game (or atleast the open world)with a statue of radagon instead of Marika 2-in Liurnia there's a group of gravity magic fanatics praying at the site of a meteorite fall, they seem to summon an alabaster lord.

[@Micolashcage1]

Theres also a Radagon Statue in the Weeping Peninsula, The Church of Pilgrimage

[@BastosFC2]

@@Micolashcage1 True completely forgot about that one, still that's only 2, so i'm guessing it has some cool lore implications

[@HeevaEgo]

There’s also the “stormcallers church” on the land where you find Lansseax. Radagon has a statue there instead of Marika

[@elleofmusic]

Bellum Church is the only one of the three Radagon statue churches that make any sense tbh. Considering it's on the path directly between the Altus Plateau and Raya Lucaria. The Church of Pilgrimage is most curious, because "Pilgrimage" suggests that it, perhaps even the entire peninsula, is a very important place to the Order, and with Radagon's statue being there, it ties him in with this great importance- but we never hear anything about him having any kind of presence there (not explicitly at least) and in fact what we get at the SoG is Marika's words addressing Godfrey and his army of newly-Tarnished, telling them to grow strong in the face of death. Then the Stormcaller Church... That one just keeps me up at night tbh. The whole area is baffling. Why is the mausoleum that's supposedly built for the casualties of the war with the ancient dragons full of Royal Revenants, Wraith-Callers, and Rosus' statues? Why are the sheep gold? (Or perhaps, why does getting struck by the perpetual lightning turn the sheep gold?) Why is the Stormcaller church called "Stormcaller?" Why is Radagon's statue there? Why is a dragon incantation and gravel stone there too? Was Radagon already Elden Lord when the ancient dragons attacked? Why is the weird crater/crag place with the Miquella and Malenia statue along with the amber starlight right in that area as well? Drives me nuts...

[@gvd72]

Idk if they’re summoning the alabaster lord but they are worshipping him

[@SixBeark]

I am likely the most particular & pissy Elden Ring lore KZbin consumer you will find. While I often disagree with your conclusions, your willingness to constantly ask questions and not get tied down to thinking about things in just one way keeps me coming back. Great work!

[@colorgreen8728]

The fact that you get an emote for talking with Melina in this one location is not something to ignore. I believe this minor erdtree is the main erdtree’s direct and likely selected descendant, maybe even nurtured and blessed by the elden beast

[@samf.s.7731]

I think there's definitely something special about it. Also, I think the dialogue we get is actually spoken by Radagon, not Marika. He's the "Imma think about the world and write a book about it" guy.. That's also the reason why she supposedly married him (It's implied), he's unlike Godfrey.. he went to college in Liurnia and stuff and that made him qualified to be King Consort 😂 Fancy! The "My comrades, why must ye falter" bit sounds like they thought he was a heretic. There's no way they thought Marika was a heretic, but Radagon, they have reason to be sus about him. It's all Christianty, but this tree probably symbolized the birth of a new faction.

[@2009samiy]

youtube mary and jesus in the quran and mohmmad in the bible and the Torah and the scientific miracles of the quran and mohmmad in hindu scripture

[@misterspiggins]

So glad someone finally went in-depth with this minor erdtree! It always stood out to me because of how unique it is, so I’m glad to see there’s some actual connections to be made.

[@minusp895]

Great video! This is why I enjoy non-linear storytelling so much. Leaving a broad space for interpretation makes a story that much more interesting.

[@2009samiy]

youtube mary and jesus in the quran and mohmmad in the bible and the Torah and the scientific miracles of the quran and mohmmad in hindu scripture

[@BrassPetals3Voices]

One thing that always struck me about Miquella attempting to grow the tree with his own body: he was cursed with the inability to grow past a certain point, and thus it seems that any tree nourished with this cursed body would be doomed to never grow past the scope of an Erd tree sapling.

[@xantishayde-walker4593]

Or, conversely, it could grow infinitely or nearly so, due to the fact of his everlasting youth. It may be a bad comparison, yet I see his everlasting youth as something akin to Wolverine from the X-Men and his healing factor. How big could an Erdtree grow from feeding off the blood of an eternal youth? I would guess extremely large.

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

Bro is anti miquella

[@marioplumber3378]

my favorite part is when ziostorm said "its ziostorming time" and ziostormed all over the place

[@AccursedHawk]

Oh brother this guy stinks

[@Noizzed]

"It's always Zio before the Storm" -John Ziostorm

[@muramasa870]

Me when i see ziostromussy🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵

[@LUKA_911]

"the real ziostorm is the friends we made along the way"

[@NumberD2000]

"I guess the real Ziostorm was the friends we made along the way" - Ziostorm 2023

[@rainbowkrampus]

Seems like a solid candidate for entrance to the DLC area. Leyendell is around the midpoint in the game, which is typically where DLC entrances become accessible. They could mix things up of course. But we'll see.

[@vincentkeith5259]

I like this theory - a lot. It ties so many elements together in such a simple way.

[@jacobstaffordmiller1635]

Very nice theory! This is my favorite "chill out" spot in the game. IDK I just always found it intriguing and beautiful

[@alastor8091]

I love that youve never once felt like you were milking ER. Every time you upload, i know its gonna be something interesting and thought provoking.

[@SirAshford]

Thank you for this content Ziostorm! Amazing insight into Golden Order Fundamentalism. Personally, this is my favourite subject matter within Elden Ring. Best of luck reaching 100k, your channel is consistently amazing, I hope this milestone is reached very soon!

[@Neptunequeen42]

the double helix tree being the 'perfect' version of the erdtree would make a lot of sense and explain why the golden order seemingly constantly fails in its goal to eliminate death perfectly, and why there's so much weird stuff with spirits in the game. They haven't correctly merged the spirit world together with the physical world and so the dead are slightly 'out of phase' and always need to be guided/funneled into the 'correct' processes and systems to keep the Order going, or else they'll wander off and end up with the outer gods or other heretical systems of death. All the more appropriate that the missing half appears to be deathroot. Maybe by allowing death to intertwine with life, they can finally arrive at a balanced system that works correctly. Or, yknow, just don't remove Destined Death from reality in the first place and no one would have these problems!

[@AokiKatsumata]

Do we have in-game sources for the spirit world being "out of phase" with TLB, and attempts to merge them? I'm really interested in that part of the lore so I'm really curious about that, if you can tell

[@Neptunequeen42]

@@AokiKatsumata That's a bit of extrapolation from LastProtagonist's Helphen discussion videos. Basically, he proposes a bit more of an involved process for removing destined death from the world, since a spirit world seemingly already existed and would have to be dealt with if you really wanted this system to work.

[@AokiKatsumata]

@@Neptunequeen42 Well, that reinforces my suspicion that Helphen will be the setting for the DLC. I'll give them a watch, thanks for replying so quickly!

[@vereornoxx]

Maybe after we save Miquella we can make the Tree at the Minor Erdtree church a new haligtree with him and his blood, who then forms the double helix with the existing erdtree, wrapping around him. Therefore completing Miquellas vision + new ending possible, since all endings are in leyndell/The erdtree, therefore being able to perform a ritual before the ending would make this one accessible. Maybe we can also heal Malenia then, still havent given up on that yet. The twins deserve better Edit: The minor erdtree also shows some red leafs, which are also the color of Miquellas Halligtree

[@piketheknight2581]

Bold of you to assume that we will save him

[@j.d.clayborne5556]

Well I for one would like to save them

[@BlueAsterismSolstice]

I like that we get that gesture from that church, the alternative from D's brother, then both arms from Goldmask. It's like there's something to this arm thing and I don't fully understand it. But Law incantations make me think they aimed for it on the vitruvian man.

[@samf.s.7731]

Absolutely, the gestures definitely make the T part of that piece of artwork, the incantation movements kinda make the X.

[@quinno.9253]

Possibly relevant as well is the singular gravestone which stands just outside this church, which has a smoldering butterfly rested infront of it. I’ve always thought that if Melina does have a grave for her original body, this would be the most likely candidate.

[@2009samiy]

youtube mary and jesus in the quran and mohmmad in the bible and the Torah and the scientific miracles of the quran and mohmmad in hindu scripture

[@BusinessSkrub]

I might not always agree with your opinions, but I love watching your vids and I'm super happy you're almost at 100k, you definitely deserve it man.

[@stellataylor7436]

The idea of having this place be the entrance to the DLC is very appealing after this theory. The minor erdtree church has always been my favorite location to go when I just want to listen to the game’s music and see the sights. This would be a really sick place to have be the entrance.

[@spozznik9246]

Maybe that minor erdtree was a test of Miquella before making the Haligtree 🤔

[@sk8legendz]

What do you think about Marikas Scarseals description and location in Miquellas Haligtree? Gideon's dialogue referring to her sorrow over the Haligtree and Miquella missing from it along with her Scarseals description seems to imply she wanted free of the Elden Beast and hoped Miquellas Haligtree could deliver her that freedom

[@elleofmusic]

Agreed. And with the theory in this video, that lends even more credence to the idea that Marika was doing all she could to help Miquella circumvent the Golden Order with his own Tree. It's curious bc her dialogue in that church, and the fact of all the centipedes around the area, suggest she founded the Golden Order Fundamentalists, yet it is Radagon who is otherwise most associated with them, particularly when it comes to their work against Those Who Live In Death. It really muddies the already murky water about the dividing line between Marika and Radagon, and whether they were on the same page with their goals or not, or for how long.

[@sk8legendz]

@@elleofmusic I think radagon was a mimic tear gone rogue at the end I think his initial purpose was to inherit the elden beast Then marika using death would kill herself and him at the same time similar to Ranni and Godwynn The goal being to slay radagon with the elden beast and her own soul being siphoned through the Haligtree allowing her rebirth and freedom from the erd tree I thought maliketh might also have been the sacrifice since he mentions realizing her betrayal

[@KissyKaede]

Maybe the DLC takes place in the far-flung future, similar to the end of DS3's Ringed City. Think about it, Godwyn's deathroot is at the foot of the Erdtree. It isn't a stretch to imagine that it continues growing into a helix around the Erdtree.

[@jackm9006]

Interesting to see you go in depth about the things that no one really talks about!

[@Nina-lf3st]

that one church was definitely differant, and it also had a single grave headstone below the side of the church too with a fire butterfly on it. It was hella specific and I was like woah what?

[@goldenbough6563]

I'spent over twenty years working in the treecare industry and gained a familiarity with the growth patterns and habits of different species. The size, colouration and growth pattern of the trees in this church all suggest they came from a different source, and were planted at a later time, than the rest of the minor erd trees. That there's some flaw in their source genetics is obvious from their condition - they're stunted and malformed. However, even when you account for those traits, the difference in size between these trees and other minor erd trees is simply too great for them to have been planted at the same time. If I were to speculate, I'd say the church trees are the offspring of Radagon's tree of gold while the other minor erd trees came from an earlier incarnation of the erd tree.

[@IchorSanies]

Bro tryna flex his herbalogy 😊😅

[@elimianogutierrez867]

Godwyns astral form boss fights gonna be so cool

[@ToastedLombax]

In that last close up of the 2 trees, it almost looked like Astels pincers attacking the erdtree

[@CratStah.]

I'm hoping we can get some more insight on the Deathbirds. With the possible connection to the afterlife the DLC could bring, a clearer sense of the Deathbirds and their Outer God would be a good addition.

[@buckyhurdle4776]

I want more stuff about the Helphen and the Death Birds. I still walk around the Forbidden Lands wondering why the red grace is there, why its forbidden, why they mention that red grace in like one item description and then put it in one area thats nearly a throwaway. Idk dude the red grace fucks with me

[@Shrekinspace]

@@buckyhurdle4776the helphen is easily the most mysterious and interesting mystery in all of elden ring for me, it would be a huge missed opportunity if they don’t expand on it

[@raging100]

Im actually sold on all points. Well done, Sir!

[@wjr4700]

Awesome job dude. Very compelling. It all fits so well. Im starting to think that the eclips mentioned was supposed to be the Haligtree eclipsing the Erdtree.

[@BraveryMclarty-bc4yf]

Always had a strange feeling about that church. Deep in my gut, I felt as if surely- this strange tree served of some significance. It was almost as if I had the words I wanted to say on the tip of my tongue. Thank you for showing this to me, really appreciate it.

[@Psychx_]

The centipedes, aswell as the outer order gesture kinda point to a connection to Nokron (which just so happens to contain a malformed helix dagger - the fingerslayer blade) aswell. D's brother provides the inner order gesture, aswell as the inseparable sword, which is formed like a double helix aswell. The broader topic the visual clues with helices, D and his brother, the inseparable sword, erdtree burials but also godwyn's burial, and haligtree vs. erdtree suggest, are "duality" and "two sides of the same coin", which is definitely a recurring motive.

[@psiq7432]

Maybe the DLC gonna be in a more distant future, after the tarnished we play become the elden lord ( or other ending ), with the Minor Erdtree of the Church become gigantic

[@DanielGarcia-rx3kt]

Great video! Glad to see this spot get some attention. The Outer Order being associated with Miquella's tree probably has a direct relationship with the circumstances of the Inner Order gesture. Regarding the Inner Order gesture, it definitely has something to do with Death because of D's association with it. They're opposing forces that would need to be combined for that alchemically perfect, divine being. Or tree. Examples of their relationship would be Order Healing as a Golden Fundamentalist incantation that destroys Deathblight and the Holy Pots crafted from a Missionary's Cookbook (like the kind found in this church) doing so much damage to Deathbirds and Those Who Live in Death. So, Outer Order is Miquella's Abundance Tree and Inner Order is Godwyn's Death Tree. Combine those for the Helix Tree Miquella wants.

[@EldenLord.]

Yeah true. When I watched Crunchys lore video about the structure of Elden Rings reality, he mentioned that its possible that not only Outer Gods exists, but also Inner Gods. It would go hand in hand with that Outer/Inner helix theory.

[@DanielGarcia-rx3kt]

​@@EldenLord.To add to this, Fia is short for Sophia which is the name of the Knowledge Aion in Gnostic tradition. An Aion is a part of the perfect God in the Pleroma in the "Immaterial" plane (opposed to our Material) and Sophia in particular crossed from the Pleroma into the Material Chaos that became our world because of the Order she imposed. She is also the mother of the Demiurge which is the Gnostic's way of reconciling the OT God (Demiurge) and NT God (Pleroma God). Taking this parallel and applying it to Fia, it can be seen as a Deathbed Companion (Aion) giving birth to a spirit world (Material World though Dream World here) within Godwyn (Demiurge) and because Godwyn died in soul but alchemy would say he still has a body and spirit is how Fia was able to create an access point to where you find Fortisax. Now I wonder how Fortisax got in there? Through a Deathbed Companion's help? Or Ancient Dragons already have that kind of connection? Elden Ring is fun lol

[@EldenLord.]

@@DanielGarcia-rx3kt This so so deep and the crazy part is that it makes sense lol. As for how Fortissax got there, he was Godwyns loyal companion so its possible he somehow fused into this dream/spirit realm while he was trying to fight the corruption. Its said in the rememberance that he tried to stop Godwyns corruption but got corrupted himself in the end. But yeah Elden Ring is, like basically all From soulslike games, something else when it comes to lore. The environmental storytelling etc. and how deep some of this stuff goes is mind blowing. I cant even comprehend the process of creating something this complex as a developer.

[@erik5309]

The curving of the tree is similar to the one in the DLC good catch!

[@lilstamp08]

I think you are about to be my new lore binge.

[@kamantariq2513]

Whats the difference between a dlc and an expansion? Could ER's dlc be so large, it surpasses dlc logic

[@HeevaEgo]

*Typically* the term expansion refers to post-release content that may rework the systems of the game to its core. And it’s something that adds enough content to feel like a somewhat semi-sequel to the game.. An example of all of this is *Witcher 3: Blood & Wine Expansion* The DLC is basically anything *less* than what is typically expected from an expansion. The DLC mainly concerns itself with being “add-on content” An example of a DLC is *Fallout 4: Far harbour* TL;DR - *Expansion* reworks the games core/adds new concepts to its core systems. *DLC* simply offers additional content

[@TechNinjaSigma]

oh yea, you're totally onto something here

[@captainlovebug]

OMG I was going to mention the world spiral tree! Nice

[@BhageraTribe]

The minor Erdtree in the church looks a lot like the Shadow of the erdtree DLC? Don´t ya think @Ziostorm? The way it bends reminded me of the DLC imagine we got.

[@andreazampollo6726]

Just, wow. Thank you for this interesting theory, and for the use of Metroid prime ost❤

[@bronowiczj]

Another great video! Keep up the great work Zio!

[@anhad004]

The minor erdtree of the minor erdtree chruch somehow represents Miquella itself, in age, this minor erdtree is older than every other minor erdtree in the game but so small, looks like its growth stopped. And its the only minor erdtree which has given extra respect.

[@LachlanArthy]

Here's a thought: The minor erdtree church was the beginning or a staging ground of Marika's part in the coming shattering war. Hence the churches and the interactions with Melina in the other churches site of grace. It should show a direct route from the minor erdtree church to the church in the bottom at the bottom of limgrave. Follow the numbered churches.

[@Despondencymusic]

Perhaps the deathroot tree is Godwyn sprouting through. 🤔

[@Proud11Peacock]

What I think is interesting is the golden sap draining from the phantom Erdtree. To some it might seem gruesome but it could be a blessing in disguise, gouging the tree of it's grace and letting it seep into the land could be what is making the soil so fertile.

[@tedminette1205]

I believe we already have the name of this twisted twin tree - Helphen

[@samf.s.7731]

Agreed 😊

[@brubels7905]

I can only imagine how hard from could troll the players by just putting the dlc in a random trap chest in some dungeon

[@wpb5876]

Fantastic as always! Interesting stuff for sure!

[@xXshadowkiller126Xx]

I'm sure this will be disproved but back in DS1 after you defeat Gwendolin and make Anor Londo dark all the manifested or (spirit) enemies disappear along with the illusion of light in the land. So to me at least over the years I take any enemy that dies and slowly fades awake with particles as not real or just summoned there. So if you keep that in mind across the games you notice that there are physical enemies in specific locations as well as ones that will fade maybe proving that this realm of the dead or what ever we want to call it may be closer to the existing reality than we think. Kinda like in SmoughTowns video of Bloodborne explaining the layers that the nightmare has. Maybe that same layer theory can be applied to other games as well if the clues and hints are there. (This is just my brains way of piecing things together would love to hear thoughts and ideas of what i put out there.) P.s. I understand my nonsense could be just nothing more than that or maybe theres something valid in there somewhere.

[@Ixxlostinabox]

The unique minor erd trees yellow color looks similar to the yellow color of coop summons. Makes me wonder if the tree has been "summoned" from another world.

[@ILoveMethanol]

The proximity to the erdtree and that this particular minor erdtree is shaped like half of a helix i think that its 99% certain that this is the 2nd tree, Fromsoftware don't just add specific environmental details for nothing.

[@delusifer1017]

Doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves, I agree. Good theory!

[@positivecontacts]

Wouldn't it make more sense that the brown minor erdtrees were seeded from a scattering of real seeds from a real tree, for example the first time that the erdtree was burnt. The golden seeds create the illusory golden trees because they scattered when the already gold-only erdtree was damaged in the shattering or possible other burning.

[@evanlaslo]

Those spoken echoes, "Marika's" own words, "Those blissful early days of blind belief; my comrades, why must ye falter?" are very interesting if you consider that it might not have actually been "Marika" saying it, but Radagon. Remember: Radagon is Marika. (While this conversely implies that Marika is Radagon, that's never explicitly stated, other than conjecture that "regression" reverts the statue of Radagon back to Marika.) Marika seems to have benefited for quite a long time thanks to bountiful blessings/dew and "blissful early days of blind belief" whereas it is Radagon who is known for studying incantations/sorceries and leading the Golden Order Fundamentalists, which betrays a greater interest in scholarship as well as using intelligence to bolster faith. Furthermore, it isn't fully understood how Radagon and Marika function as entities, but I'm of the opinion that Radagon is an offshoot of Marika in some way (like a Mimic Tear or the manifestation of her removed sin, but perfected through the amber egg) created to be strong enough to fight Marika's but not intelligent enough to thwart or control her. However, Radagon eventually became his own person after partaking of the Celestial Dew at the Church of Vows and became intelligent at the Academy, using the Preceptors to hide his secret origins. (Radagon's arrival may have even resurged experiments with Albinaurics.) Thanks to the Mimic Veil, which we know hails from the capitol and is also known as "Marika's Mischief," we know that Marika is capable of powerful mimicry. I think it's fair to assume that Radagon is also capable of mimicry, but, even if he isn't, he may, at the very least, be able to take on Marika's appearance. We know Marika had denied Radagon's godhood and told him that he would only be allowed to fuse after they (the bodily host of the Elden Ring) were "shattered both." This is very cryptic and spurs many questions, but it most obviously conflicts with Radagon's interests: he wants to be a god (if not the one, true god) AND he wants the Golden Order as it is to remain a "perfect" and un-shattered triune. We also know that Marika/Radagon's bedchamber is filled with tablets containing ancient knowledge, something Marika, much less Godfrey, ever had any need for as far as we know. (The Golden Order Principia is written on paper, which is why I believe the stone tablets must be significantly older.) So, I believe Radagon either disguised himself as Marika or forcefully unified with her, planted a minor Erdtree seed (which would have caused the faithful to falter because such seeds should be impossible), and promised to combine intelligence with faith, thus inspiring if not outright beginning the fundamentalists. This chronologically explains how some "fundamentalist" incantations could be created between Miquella and Radagon while the remainder of those incantations were created to defeat Those Who Live in Death, which was only necessary after Godwyn's death (and assumedly after Miquella left to create the Haligtree and eliminate Malenia's rot). This is important because the seeds allegedly appeared AFTER the shattering of the Erdtree but before The Shattering war, but, after the Elden Ring was shattered, Marika was nowhere to be found. So... then how was a church built around a Minor Erdtree, and how does Marika have spoken echoes at this church? And why would Marika speak directly to her "comrades" in such an antithetical way? My educated guess would be that Radagon posed as Marika to plant this Minor Erdtree, but even that doesn't make perfect sense to me given the timeline as we understand it. Still, it's something worth thinking about! Great video!

[@HeevaEgo]

You pose a very compelling theory. And it’s not without evidence either! The whole game is the Tarnished being brought back to the lands between, via grace & Marika’s plan. She sent us off, in hopes for us to endure pain so that when we do return, we’ll return powerful enough to fulfil marika’s wishes & destroy the Golden Order. If you remember Gideon shuddering in fear of what he glimpses into Marika’s soul. Many people were confused as to why Marika would want to prevent us from entering the Erdtree & killing the god, considering that is the exact reason for which we were brought back by her. Many do not consider the fact that it was NOT Marika’s soul Gideon feared…. But Radagon’s. Radagon was the one who scared Gideon… Some may conceive this as contradictions or “lore that doesn’t make sense” But people fail to remember that Marika IS Radagon. So the next time you hear/read about Marika doing something, ALWAYS keep in mind that it’s actually Radagon if their actions contradict Marika’s ambitions. I 100% agree with what you said.

[@samf.s.7731]

Totally think that Radagon was the one who delivered that speech.

[@TextToSpeechYoda]

Great video, as far as environmental storytelling goes, I highly doubt it's a coincidence the leaves on the minor Erdtree match the colors of Malenia's butterflies either. More fuel for this being Miquella attempting to cure her of the Scarlet Rot.

[@Galamoth06]

I'm not sure why you'd go with the double helix structure of DNA, when the caduceus makes more sense in every conceivable way given its association with gods and alchemy. The word caduceus comes from the Greek word for "herald's staff," since it was the staff or wand carried by Hermes, the messenger god. The same coiled design can be found in the horn weapons carried by the Oracle enemies in Leyndell and the Haligtree, whose purpose is to herald the coming of a new god. That's just one example, but it's pretty explicit. And that's not to say the double helix interpretation is incorrect, it just seems like the more obvious inspiration was overlooked.

[@LVmobster27]

Skytown Elysia, would’ve been nice to see it in its heyday

[@jeremynunya1188]

Wait a second, the half of the haligtree that died. Miquela's picture in the DLC teaser... His corpse likely being found in Mohgs palace...Getting multiple holy incantations which all feel useless because they are right before the end of the game. Miquela is dead, the DLC takes place in the spirit world, the tree we see in the DLC teaser is the dead half of the haligtree and since Miquela's spirit is still linked to the Haligtree he hasn't been able to leave the spirit world yet. That's why we get all the holy incantations at the end of the game, they are to prepare us for fighting the dead enemies in the DLC.

[@Michael-dy7zp]

Congratulations getting to 100K subs.

[@freaktree7510]

Notice how the hailege tree is very twisted of course it’s rotting but also in transplanting cuttings from plants and trees sometimes those cuttings still grow as branches instead of a straight tree

[@trinity3422]

Deep theory, it always amazes me how far down the rabbit hole FromSoft players go. It’s also what makes fromsoft games epic though.

[@marchmelloow]

If you are correct with this, then the Golden Order Seal is probably Miquella's; his seal that he abandoned here after abandoning the Golden Order.

[@nanoblast5748]

all I can say about the erdtree church is that THAt seal you find there, the golden order seal, belonged to miquella himself.

[@keithbowen13]

I love the Metroid music

[@thundergodslightningbolt1913]

Love your content!

[@kreadapelu8813]

I was under the impression that all the minor Erdtrees were made of many entwined vines that are parasitic to some actual tree. Or, potentially, using a demigod or other powerful entity as a base the vines wrap around and climb. While it had not occurred to me that Miquella is connected to the Minir Erdtree Church, it definitely looks as if the trees were abandoned. C And on the subject of the glow, some of those branches at the church are not glowing, just as with the Erdtree momma do.

[@joeharm8141]

Ziostorm , keep it up with the Elden Ring videos man! Nice job 👍🏻 However , maybe it’s just me, but no Elden Ring DLC , not even an armor pack drop!? ER is not cutting it. Disappointed.

[@assadbradley3210]

“or it could just be a site of grace”

[@OneDrunkWizard]

Life and death tree helix? Fuck yeah fromsoft GIVE ME THAT DLC

[@oranbug8765]

Does that mean the misbegotten we fight in snowfield is a part of this experiment since in his 2nd phase he does the outter order gesture before shooting the light slice

[@adamberard7987]

Wow with the DLC coming this video is something elese 😅

[@l1teralcanc3r78]

Bruh I was pondering with my brother a few months ago while we were luring invaders to that church.

[@leemills3728]

Desperately hope the DLC has something to do with the ocean. FromSoft has shown us all the beautiful, frightening, tragic, and awe-inspiring things to be seen in the Lands Between. Now show us what lies below.

[@backslash4141]

Umm, the depths that you can access in the base game are what's below.

[@buckyhurdle4776]

Give me ocean monster

[@Ifearlessnesses]

As above So below But for real me too I want ocean umibozu monstuh!

[@IdToaster]

While there's definitely a lot different with this church to the others, it's hardly the only one with golden centipedes left as offerings - check out some of the churches with Radagon statues like Bellum Church or the Church of Pilgrimage. Not all of them though, I guess, since Stormcaller Church has gravel stone left to Radagon's idol as offering by the dragon cultists, instead of the centipedes of the fundamentalists.

[@OriArian]

Maybe burying people alive in it's roots would have completed the rest of the helix

[@danielarmada2860]

Do you think the ship anchor weapon and wrecked ships in ER have a correlation with the shark giants and Hamlet in Bloodborne 🩸??

[@Nightrunner116]

In a realm of fog where souls endure, Two ancient trees tower tall and proud, Each entwined in fate's cruel embrace. A helix spirals, arms outstretched, Opposing symmetries, the ebbs and highs. One adorned with vibrant light, The other cloaked in darkness, eternal night. As twilight merged with dawn's first breath, Two trees dance, entwining life and death. Their branches danced like lovers lost, A haunting waltz, destinies crossed. From life to death, and death to life, A sacred bond, a cosmic rife. When you stand amidst its grandeur, Feel the balance of life’s tenure, For from this tree, both life and death, Are intertwined in every breath.

[@schokomitnussen4289]

Liked for Metroid music

[@elijahpaul2318]

What if the Penetrator Will Come Back for Expansion?

[@donnagrissom3944]

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Miquella in some kind of dream world looking for both a cure for Malenia, as well as finding a way to bring Godwyn back? Or am I just making that up?

[@GrandNoble]

No one ever talks about the 2 damaged erdtrees that aren't golden anymore

[@StretchDude]

So half of the Haligtree is rotted and half is missing. Just like the state of the twins themselves!

[@adrianiris90]

Whats with the random tree in the beginning 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Xenbjorn]

No “alright wuzz goin on guys” ?!

[@ShadowProject01]

I get the feeling we are going to have to face a blood addled Miquella driven mad by the fact The Tarnished killed his sister. I don’t think we are going to be bros after that😢

[@shanedillis153]

Could shadow actually be like the empyreans shadows? Maybe the erd tree has a shadow

[@HeevaEgo]

Almost as if there’s a “Shadow of the Erdtree”😭

[@samf.s.7731]

​@@HeevaEgowell, you know with the erdtree being "the sun" and having only a metaphysical existence, it doesn't actually cast a shadow 😅

[@0erocake157]

when is the dlc coming

[@sethstewart9704]

Here's an interesting point. There are different Minor Erdtrees at different sizes, hinting at different growth rates. The Shattering is not the only time a Great Tree was destroyed. Could the very tallest Minor Erdtrees actually be offspring of the Great Tree from the Crucible? And the smaller ones, they could be the offspring of the Erdtree we know and love. It's been only 5000 years since the Shattering according to George R. R. Martin. I imagine those monolithic trees take waaaaay longer than that to grow to Erdtree size.

[@Haydentrudyjones]

It all clicked as soon as you drew focus to the tree in the minor erd tree church - it’s image/silhouette is so suggestive of the haligtree, and both share the practice of being fertilized with bodies. It’s also interesting that we get the outer order gesture after hearing Marika say she plans to “search the depths of the golden order”, and that she’s no longer is satisfied with blind faith but must know the true intent/makeup of the golden order. Which is similar to what gold mask is doing in his quest, and is standing in the Outer Order stance up until his revelation.

[@igoonx15]

I have a lot of theories but i'm glad someone noticed this church, like I remember when i found this church and this tree i felt something was odd and out of place, also I can’t remember what book we found in this church but if it’s related to “Sleep” the it must be related to Miquella since he is always related to sleep and his other self “i forgot the exact name” but he has female form in the sleeping world or something like that so yeah... i really hope we can see both Miquella and Godwyn, for some reason if we were to fight Miquella, i don’t want to see him as monster because i always thought of him as a majestic looking young man “child?” i think it would be very fitting for his character also i'm kinda burnt out with the “monstrous” looking bosses. And i need to see Godwyn, the Golden! In his full glory and not a monster. I think if the Dlc is some kind of a dream world where the dead live would fit the story imo. Kinda like the hunter's nightmare from BB.

[@ThirdEyeLegacy]

Aye I made the 700’s like! I go by ThirdEyeLegacy and I create original artwork. Focusing in on mostly mental illness awareness and drug abuse and there effects. As well as breaking through and rising from the shedding of bad habits circles and mind spaces.

[@armandaneshjoo]

WOW!

[@lakeofrot4198]

I don't know a DLC where you don't go into the past or a painting seems pretty far fetched. 😂

[@crowstakingoff]

Here are a couple of other thoughts: First, the winding golden trees might also be intended to resemble the golden centipedes found there. Second, the outer order gesture might be pointing outside the Lands Between, where the Haligtree is located. The Tarnished Archaeologist has talked about how the Haligtree is really the only location that is outside of the Erdtree's root system.

[@danielsolomon63]

Why is everyone calling it DLC. Which DLC took more than a year to release. I think this will be the straight up part 2. Elden Ring 2: Shadow of the ErdTree.

[@samf.s.7731]

I actually agree. I think this will be a lot and they won't disappoint. Wonder if GRRM is working on it as well, even if he was he wouldn't be able to say it because the TWoW fanatics will start reprimanding him 😅

[@THE_SSKKYY]

Yes, i've bin waiting for this video about that place about that church about that tree

[@ricardo.mazeto]

Elden Ring video, Metroid soundtrack. 😂