Elden Ring - Stormveil is being torn apart

Stormveil Castle is the legacy dungeon of essentially the tutorial area, but in some ways it's more complex and layered than many of the dungeons that follow after it. It's not in particularly great shape though, and there might be an important reason why.
Song used: Central Tower- King's Field IV OST

[@ZullietheWitch]

Something interesting I noticed about Godwyn's tendrils is, in keeping with his aquatic theming, there are some parts that look almost like the suckers of an octopus tentacle. Godwyn's usual Deathroot isn't particularly thorny, so whatever is going on at Stormveil seems like an unusual case if he is at fault.

[@arandomshark2667]

I wonder if they're going to expand on this in the dlc (being that the erdtree is decayed). I just don't know if its post burning or after deathblight had expanded in a normal fromsoft time jump lol. Anyways, great find as always!

[@pg3223]

It's not an octopus tentacle. It is a jellyfish stinger.

[@JoeKing69]

I always knew since I first saw those ugly ass holes that they represented something deeper, like the castle was in a state of accelerated decay. Did anyone else get a genuine visceral reaction from looking at them? They look like infected sores or something.

[@serpentnightrevival1151]

maybe an outer god of sin?

[@maliciouscookies5466]

The thorns bear a biblical symbolism of those "who are consumed by the cares and anxieties of this physical life and the deceitful enticements of wealth". They're God's punishment for uncontrolled greed and desire, in this case Godrick and his family's desire for power, perverted as it is. The secondary meaning of thorns, specifically crown of thorns, is what the fire monks stand for; atonement, humility and fall from grace. In this case, guarding the giant's flame while making use of its profane powers. Might not be that relevant, but in Shinto, thorns usually symbolise a prohibited desire. Something sinful you're hopelessly ensnared by. Godwyn's death relates to all of this of course, as it created a new form of life. Life without meaning, direction and purpose. It can only spread while consuming everything else, cancer. In biblical sense, it's a sin of the highest caliber, living body without the spirit, basically reverse Jesus. And obviously, the thorny roots are what they are; tendrils of Deathblight slowly creeping around and consuming the Lands Between. The released DLC banner basically comfirms that Deathblight is taking over the Erdtree. Consumed by thorns is to be consumed by own sin, a living sin in the context of the game. Basically, every one of Marika's children mixes elements of the Bible, Shinto and Germanic mythology to portray different perversion of life as intended by the Greater Will.

[@DERyuga]

Its also interesting to note that this could be directly caused by grafting simply because of the carnage that it causes. The amount of littered corpses that arent disposes of carefully might attract the deathblight, similar to that alchemical worldview video you made before where simply the presence of dead flesh was enough to "create" bugs.

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

Bug farming life hack

[@hagridps1674]

They running on that spontaneous generation logic😂😂

[@garvielloken8494]

@@hagridps1674 you laughing, but for a fantasy world it's amazing theme, opening for a lot of concepts

[@Neo2266.]

@@zaidlacksalastname4905death hack

[@hagridps1674]

@@garvielloken8494 I'm laughing because it's a notion of science that i revisited days ago, otherwise yeah it's pretty cool

[@Hollowolfjas4014]

Stormveil brings to mind the "Fisher Kingdom" trope, where a kingdom will suffer a sickness or pestilence to matches the sickness or evil of its royalty. The castle is an insane shadow of its original glory, being eaten from within by a combination of briars, the holes in its walls resemble sores or ulcers, a grim place of death. Just like a sickly, desperate, violent Godrick.

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

For some reason, skimming your comment and seeing the words "fisher kingdom" somehow reminded me of how some seaside cultures would revere corpses of whales that would wash ashore, as they provided many resources for food and tools. I don't know why I made that connection here, other than Godwyn's fishy appearance, but I thought it was interesting.

[@harvesterofeyes8813]

Definitely something the GRRM has included in his books. Harrenhall and the nights watch castle with the rat cook off the top of my head.

[@Tahanok2]

It wouldn't be the first Arthurian theme in this game, and combined with the death/aquatic-life imagery that shows up all over the game, it could go either way. It's almost frustrating how little explanation we're given for so many things in Fromsoft games. Not necessarily nothing, but just a little, which is enough to convince your brain that there are answers and other figurative puzzle pieces left to be found and put together, even when there's none left.

[@uhoh7545]

​@@strcmdrbookwyrmkos parasite brainrot

[@davidhong1934]

Would letting Nepheli take over fix the problem?

[@MisterOfu]

There's something really funny to me about a fantasy dungeon being called Edinburgh. Can't wait for the Glasgow DLC.

[@SpiderGeometry]

Glasgow DLC would slap. The Necropolis is imposing enough to be included for its beauty and people would complain about the difficulty spike at Maryhill Tesco.

[@ashk0p450]

Fromsoft really seems to like UK cities with dystopian undertones.

[@Sam-uk4mb]

Final boss of the DLC is an anthropomorphic fried mars bar

[@tarille1043]

Glasgow DLC would end up with the game needing a AO rating...

[@noatrope]

@@ashk0p450Birmingham DLC when

[@__8120]

These deconstructions and deep dives into the game files and descriptions are endlessly fascinating. Thank you for putting out such high quality content

[@ItRhymesWith]

And obviously thanks to the devs for, as always, putting so much work and detail into their games

[@ParadiseAndGin]

Plus the eerie music fits so well. I love her videos!

[@Peptuck]

There's also the fact that the castle is actually being slowly torn apart. If you look at certain places in Stormveil, you can see where giant staples have been hammered into fissures that have ruptured in the stonework, implying that Goodrick's troops are aware that the castle is collapsing and are trying to keep it from falling apart.

[@bbss2907]

In the 2019 trailer, Godrick is shown having grafted a left arm that matches the size and skin tone of Godwyn. During the shattering, Godrick stole a bunch of treasures and hid amongst the womenfolk of Leyndell to flee. Godwyns left shoulder to around his lower back was cut on the night of black knives Rogier refers to the body under storm wind as a “relic of Godwyns from the night of black knives”. One definition of a relic is a part of a deceased holy persons body. Therefore, the sin that is being punished is that one of the treasures Godrick stole during the shattering was a holy relic; the left arm of Godwyn the Golden. He grafted it onto himself to gain power, but was likely corrupted by death blight and had to cut it off. He cast it into the moat where it has begun growing into a second corpse of the Prince of Death, like a starfish. This is the source of the thorns in stormveil castle. Godrick killed the dragon so that he could source a replacement left hand.

[@giovannicarbone9441]

This might also explain the presence (if not the only instance) of thorny Deathroot in Stormveil. It could be tied to the thorns being associated with sin and its punishment, as the thorns might be punishing not just the grafting but the very act of Godfrey predating on his own kin, Godwyn, one of his ancestors and symbol of the golden lineage. After all, all the Demigods are being punished for fighting each other, as in fighting their own blood, as their fate is to die at the hands of the Tarnished.

[@biggestnoob4704]

Oh! Good catch! That might explain the corpse under castle where similar corpses haven't cropped up elsewhere!

[@funguy398]

Godwyn corpse under the Leyndell have both arms? Maybe it grows itself another arm 💪

[@jabbathehutt2774]

I think Radagon must've attacked stormveil at some point. The thorns in stormveil seem reminiscent of the thorns on the corpses of the fire giants, a place where I do believe we know Radagon faught in that war. I think the grafting is tangentially related to the deathblight in stormveil but I don't the thorns are the deathroot. We also know that Radahn attacked stormveil at some point do to telltale giant rocks in the walls, so it's possible these attacks against stormveil are one and the same since we know Radahn loved his red hair and the golden order. Or perhaps it was another attack godrick thought he could simply hide from instead however it started from the inside rather than the outside.

[@eMercody]

That’s a cool theory

[@SirSaltythe1st]

Stormveil is one of my favorite places in the game

[@Jeffmetal42]

mine too

[@Sauviller]

Ok

[@Greendawn-di3dl]

Leyendell is mine, dark souls loves to show vistas when you enter a new location and the view is immaculate

[@JoseViktor4099]

The best Castle FromSoft has ever made imo.

[@TheKnightDrag0n]

It's the closest thing we got to real level design in the game, the royal capital and shunning grounds are also up there as far as I'm concerned.

[@metalmonster9536]

Everything about Godwyn's death is so interestingly ominous

[@CokeNoseGoat]

Stormveil always blows me away with the amount of lore tie-ins it has. Great video as always!

[@kaden1991]

I wonder if Godrick would be foolish enough to graft Godwyn's corpse, or if that is perhaps the source of the castle's strange affliction.

[@digiquo8143]

This seems like the most likely theory imo. Grafting pieces of Godwyn's corpse in an attempt to steal a portion of his power can only be considered one of the most unholy unions imaginable in Elden Ring.

[@metalmonster9536]

Imagine Godrick being a badass, grafting Godwyn into Stormveil and then grafting the castle to himself

[@AtelierMcMuttonArt]

@@metalmonster9536 That's a *really* cool idea. I could see that happening if Grafting were a much greater focus of the overall story.

[@ChadTasteInMusic421]

​@@metalmonster9536That would be awesome he literally becomes the castle

[@metalmonster9536]

​@@ChadTasteInMusic421 Oh what fun Gostoc would have had living there 😂

[@swosho]

King's Field IV music always hits the spot 🤌

[@TheDanjaBus]

Wish they would release the soundtrack for it instead of us having to find pirate rips.

[@eaglelord145]

Despite living there, I never made the correlations between Stormveil and Edinburgh Castle, but that’s so cool that it’s literally referenced in the files!

[@AydarBMSTU]

Holy sh*t, you lived in Stormveil! Amazing

[@AdamOwenBrowning]

it's one of my favourite UK castles and I didn't see it AT all lmao - I didn't see the link between Limgrave and Edinburgh much at all

[@RealLenny]

@@AdamOwenBrowning stormveil has holes in the walls, edinburgh has holes in the road and pavement

[@Consumstra]

The Erdtree always felt ominous to me, always there high above the sky, everyone always adoring it. So it was the most suspicious.

[@jameswillen6749]

Its a giant bewitching branch

[@RagingBrachy]

Griffith tree.

[@GillfigGarstang]

Have you read berserk? If you get to the Fantasia Arc you will have a pretty good idea of how sinister the direct inspiration for the Erd Tree really is despite it’s ethereal beauty.

[@alfalldoot6715]

It's a pretty tree

[@mark0183]

When the erdtree is sus 😳

[@RamAurelius]

Im starting to get back into Elden Ring lore, and your videos always provide some unique insights. Keep it up! I am curious if there's any explanation given as to why such a "complete" manifestation of Godwyn is located at Stormveil Castle and seemingly nowhere else. It's odd to me that a full-on second corpse shows up there, while other locations are typically limited to Godwyn's eyes manifesting on Deathroot vines.

[@ZullietheWitch]

Some of the likely possibilities seem to be that either one of the corpses is just a fully developed deathroot, or alternatively, one of the corpses is his actual corpse and the other is essentially a stillborn rebirth attempt by the Erdtree. People are seemingly reborn through the Erdtree itself, and it may have attempted to do the same with Godwyn, only for it to go horribly awry because his soul remained dead.

[@RamAurelius]

​@@ZullietheWitch I agree that the "second corpse" is most likely the final evolution of Deathroot (minus the trademark Godwyn eyes interestingly enough). I'm just curious as to why Stormveil Castle was the one place to progress this far along in the Prince of Death's corruption. I'm sure the placement by Fromsoft wasn't arbitrary, but I personally can't pin down any potential connections there.

[@VileLasagna]

@@RamAurelius Stormeil is quite fascinating in many ways. It has its own entire culture signified by the storm winds, the banished and exiled knights with their stormy battle arts, unique architecture that isn't really present anywhere else..... And that whole area where you find Godwyn's corpse is quite peculiar. You have the corpse itself, an Ulcerated Tree Spirit lurking around and more unique elements with the whole cocoon coffin things laying around. Nowhere else in the game has anything like that. We see the weird petrified people in the eternal cities, similar people being absorbed by the erdtree's roots in the catacombs, the living jars which may have been used to transport corpses..... but those cocoon-like things? Only that one room. It's super intriguing, tbh. I always end up scratching my head when I visit that area for Rogier's quest

[@gunsevenwhillans420]

​@@RamAureliusperhaps all the corpses attracted deathroot and allowed it to grow so far?

[@Brasswatchman]

​@@ZullietheWitch One other thought occurs to me -- could the "second corpse" have grown from a piece of Godwyn, cut off from his main body and buried beneath his home? Perhaps his foot or leg?

[@richardmcnamara8715]

Stormveil is being torn apart by a purple man in a loincloth with a big club

[@Er404ChannelNotFound]

I think the reason the Erdtree uses thorns is specifically Radagon using thorns. He is implied to have lineage from the Giants and we see those Giants in the Mountaintops bursting with thorns out of their corpses. Furthermore his own Rune symbol is covering those thorns as we see that criss cross on his statues as well.

[@sansenoy]

That rune symbol is meant to represent a trellis, a support structure for vine growth, as opposed to tree branches and trunks... It was in a hawkshaw or tarnished archeologist video, can't remember where

[@Jergy2]

Thorns seem to show up more than just from Radagon or the Giants though. Aside from Godwyn and deathblight, there's the Thorn Sorcerers/Abberant Sorceries and the Blood Star, as well as Elmer of the Briar and Eochaid.

[@Er404ChannelNotFound]

@@Jergy2 I'm not saying thorns in general are exclusive to Radagon. I'm saying the reason they protect the Erdtree is very likely out of Radagon's own intervention rather than being innate to the Erdtree.

[@Mare_Man]

I'm pretty sure the giants in the Mountaintop are afflicted with Deathblight, just covered in snow. We see it all over the graveyards up there

[@okname5335]

@@Mare_Man but wheres the deathblight frogs or godwin head onion things or those who live in death or like any other deathblight stuff all we see near the frozen giants are thorn sorcerers even tho there is a deathblight area in the mountaintops with those who live in death and deathblight onions theres no frozen giants or thorn sorcerers there

[@torquevonthorne948]

Yes finally you covered this topic! I always wondered who attacked Stormveil from the SEA (it is clear the shot that hit the walls came from the west, and there is only the sea and the island where the tarnished begins his journey)... but your explanation is insightful

[@geraltofrivia7448]

Stormveil has always been an intriguing place. Especially since it has been in many trailers and there was hype built around it. Even tho we got to fully explore it, it always feels like there's something more to it!

[@radioactivecat6658]

God the buildup to Godrick as a boss is fantastic, from when you start out in Limgrave and hearing about him, to finally reaching Stormveil and seeing the carnage of his grafting firsthand, with ominous BG music to match, all finally peaking when you encounter Godrick. I feel like that boss “buildup” is a lesser talked about subject but it adds so much.

[@khajiitimanus7432]

Crazy theory: Taking note that Godwyn's corpse is in Deeproot Depths, underneath Leyndell, and that he seemingly has another body underneath Stormveil.... Perhaps the body underneath Stormveil is there as a result of Godrick's grafting. Maybe he took a piece of Godwyn and attempted grafting it, and the catastrophic result is the slow deathblight of Stormveil itself.

[@AdellRedwinters]

Fun note about grafting, it's something often done with plants, grafting different species of them together to help them grow in different environments. I wonder if the implication is that the Erdtree itself is a grafted being, having grafted itself onto whatever great tree existed before the time of Elden Lords.

[@jameswillen6749]

Oh i like this. Like if you put a rose into a potato it grows into a rosebush but the roots are potatos

[@okname5335]

tarnished archeologist has a video showing the lore pointing to that

[@velhokala8456]

If I remember correctly there is even cut dialogue where Godrick talks about his followers bringing him a new "branch" to craft.

[@Jack-tg9qm]

@@okname5335lol I read this comment and was like oh boy do I have a video for you, glad to see somebody already mentioned TA’s video

[@TheMightyNovac]

I think none of these explanations conflict with each other, and rather they all add to each other in explanation: The literal source of the thorns is, in all likelihood, Godwyn's corpse -- it's consistent with its placement as the "secret of the castle", and narratively it explains his inclusion in Stormveil. The metaphysical connection is that Godrick is being punished for his sins, and that fate has brought the plague of Godwyn's corpse to his doorstep -- perhaps a coincidence, but it aligns with similar ideas of divine punishment. As for the Erdtree's involvement, as Godwyn and the Erdtree's roots are intertwined, I don't think you necessarily have to separate their influence. Rather, given the recency of the appearance of thorns to protect the Erdtree, it's possible that they appeared precisely because of Godwyn's corpse infecting its roots, as if his golden lineage is still protecting the tree now, or vice-versa -- that Godwyns accumilation of thorns is divine/phyiscal punishment by the Erdtree itself for being a sin against nature, infecting its roots.

[@alyseleem2692]

So, you're saying Godwyn's actually the guy gatekeeping us from his mom? Not gonna lie; never thought of that one before.

[@TheMightyNovac]

@@alyseleem2692 No, Godwyn is the first child gatekeeping us from his mom's new boyfriend. Don't get it twisted. And his dad (and her ex-husband) is also doing the gatekeeping too. This is actually too real now that I think about it.

[@angelamengualcortinas3614]

Its highly unlikely that the thorns that protect the Erdtree are Godwyn's. They are much more likely caused by Radagon, since if you pay attention to the design the thorns are making, it's identical to the mark that often accompanies Radagon's depictions in statues. Still, the rest of your theory is completely valid.

[@alyseleem2692]

@@TheMightyNovac You do remember her new boyfriend is also her, right?( my brain is still frying trying to explain how that works) And ###, you're right.

[@quinnmcpherrin7131]

We also have to remember that godrick is a descendant of godwyn, so maybe godwyn's deathblight is attempting to punish the discrace to his lineage.

[@Double512]

i always figured the holes were from Radahn's assault on the castle; they greatly resemble craters caused by high speed impacts being perfectly round and the entire castle garrison is oriented to defending the main gate. the thorns being an indicator of sin or depravity makes sense though

[@gestalt7529]

After experiencing Stormveil and Raya Lucaria, most of other castle dungeons didn’t feel very special Mainly because of those early two being sooo unique Edit: I meant aesthetically, castle redmane/sol/shaded ain’t that cool as Stormveil/Lucaria/Leyndell. The lack of cutscene boss might be the reason I feel that way as well.

[@eredin105]

leyndell> stormveil

[@Heb_N]

Shaded castle is cool. Castle sol was badass. And so was castle morne, carian manor all had their unique features

[@metalmonster9536]

Pretty sure they put a lot of extra effort into Stormveil, as it is meant to show the players what experiences Legacy Dungeons would bring. I'm not that disappointed in others though-except Redmane Castle, which is underwhelming even considering that it is focused on leading you into an epic boss raid

[@Snacks256]

Too bad Raya Lucaria is so tiny. The main path is smaller than areas in Souls games and we barely see the interior.

[@AL3Z72]

@@Heb_N tbh everything other than the legacy dungeons were dark souls 2-tier levels.

[@ButcherGod]

For me, the holes in the walls and in their own flesh is the biggest mystery of it all. And there must be some reason we don't see any signs of it on Godrick, maybe a Great Rune protects him, or maybe he isn't the reason for the affliction? The Oni in the courtyard is unaffected either, could be something about solely the knights of the Castle, since the Storm hawk's show no signs either, and haven't they been there the longest? Curious indeed.

[@The5lacker]

I presume it's because all of his flesh is fresh, rapidly layering graft on top of graft not just for strength, but to keep the corruption at bay.

[@jackbelmont4389]

I thought that the holes on the walls were caused by radahn attacking the castle when passing my limgrave, but Godrick never bothered to fix them

[@toastmaster914]

Catapults

[@hoodiegal]

@@toastmaster914 I initially thought of something like that aswell, but... why? that side of the castle is facing the sea, and there's a 100 meter sheer cliffside below it. Even if you could construct a ship-mounted catapult capable of bombarding that side of the castle, why would you bother? There's nothing to gain from trying to wreck that side of the castle.

[@ScrawnyTreeDemon]

There are signs of it on Godrick, too, if you peel away his clothing and armour-- Dark, nasty splotches, a particularly prominent one being beneath the gauntlet of the arm he ends up amputating in lieu of the dragon-head. Granted, that doesn't explain the other oddities, but Godrick hasn't gone unscathed.

[@n4rkotik]

Hey Zullie, I actually live in Edinburgh. Can't believe your video blew my mind so quickly. Keep up your amazing work & wish you well.

[@AwesomeWookiee]

Ah, the true Eldritch Horror: Scotland. To be fair, Shadow over Innsmouth is about the Welsh, so maybe all of us in the UK are extradimensionally awesome/horrifying.

[@lavoroxan8114]

Honestly peak videogame content. Bite sized, comfortably edited and comprehensive, subtitles and taking deep dive looks at details

[@carnasondrakith2553]

Something i noticed recently (and i'm truly not sure why i didn't notice it sooner) is that the chapel of anticipation (the building you wake up in at the start of the game) has the exact same architectural theming as stormveil, and in fact, includes the thorns and growing sores caused by whatever curse stormveil suffers from.

[@jaancarlo]

That shot of the erdtree through the crack in the wall is just something else. Amazing work once again, Zullie!

[@julianrodales2228]

It's always great to see you've uploaded. Your Elden Ring videos are amazing, Zullie.

[@lucklesscope8367]

I love these short, but informative videos. And the ominous music really adds to the tension.

[@XTheJenovaProjectX]

The subject matter, the slow methodical pacing of the imagery and the music are what makes these videos so great.

[@Neon-bd6vk]

It's really nice to have you back Zullie. I missed your content a lot. Hope you're still doing well

[@KaizeharuMushPlays]

The holes in the side of stormvale is caused by radans meteors also gave me fish

[@mikeyswift2010]

Your shit is so sick. I've been watching for a long time on many different youtube accounts. I rarely can be seen watching multiple channels across different account through time. Yours is one of them tho.

[@noatrope]

"A house malignant, boiling with leprosy, with lesions deeper than its walls..." - (Control, Anatomy, and the Legacy of the Haunted House)

[@Sliverism]

Very esoteric! thank you Zullie, you truly are the best at what you do

[@wackyflappybob]

I absolutely love these videos! Sometimes I wish it was narrated though so I didn't have to read the text and then look at the footage but I also feel like it may take away from the style of these. Great work as always, Zullie!

[@Amalvipls]

seeing lore videos so well made with an interesting theories and then comparing to vaati's shitposts is like day and night

[@gwyndolinds-en8yt]

Maybe the torns are a remembrance of Godwyn’s body, a memory of punishment, and so take this format as his grudge against his lineage decadence and murderers

[@DiegoAlexio]

Another amazing video, Zullie. Thanks for your hard work!

[@BionicmeLoL]

I somehow got the idea that the thorned holes in the walls were from some form of biohazard coastal bombardment, seeing as most of them seem to be on the water-facing side of Stormveil, but this makes a whole lot more sense.

[@aidanmacnaull3020]

Godwyn's deathroot shennaginerry does seem to have some connection to water so maybe if it is related to him it just naturally gravitated to the seaside of things

[@lundylow]

The fact that the worldbuilding of Elden Ring consistently creeps me out is part of why I'm fascinated by it. The effects of religion being physical and tangible and visceral.

[@Midnitethorn]

Glad to see you back! Always love your videos

[@MitridatedCarbon]

I think it is Deathroot, and the thorns are a representation of Godwyn's fury, almost to declare the entirety of the lands between is guilty of his death. the various alternative theories are what ER does magnificently, which is tricking you into false lore, like Radagon being a giant. the reason why it isn't in Stormveil, I think is because Deathroot, being an extension of Godwyn, is attracted to places connected to him and his lineage. Or maybe the place underneath Stormveil was just another catacomb. looks like one. Also, it is interesting to see that the mercenary soldiers look pretty lively compared to the official soldiers. Hope the Expansion sheds some light on it. My theory is that the most blessed before the shattering got turned into walking corpses after the shattering, as there was no more Elden Ring and Erdtree (now dimming) to bless them with their strength, runes, and vigor. thus those who had lived without blessing look normal in the aftermath of the shattering, while those who belonged to the Golden Order society and got spoiled by the eternal blessing of the Erdtree had to live without its power, including their domestic dogs. that's why this weird hollowing seems to worsen the more the individual class is higher. Nobleman are walking mummies. high-rank soldiers look like zombies. common soldiers are gray-skinned and look dead, but not decomposed. Perfumers have a rotten face but are more aggressive probably from their overuse of potions. Commoners in service of the higher classes look old but are still sentient. The women from Dominula, lower class and heretic, look old and scary, but not corpse-like. Pages, who come from lower class, are almost stronger than elite soldiers and fight in a style reminiscent of a player character, and the skin on their hands is normal human look. Glintstone sorcerers were accepted by the Golden Order because of radagon and are pale and corpse-like, while those in service of the Carian Family, (considered not royalty anymore and suffered a coup), look like player NPCs (the Carian Knight for example). the player-looking Npcs are all, outcasts, criminals, renegades, nomads, or tarnished. the rest of the Lands Between's weird creatures don't look corpse-like.

[@irregularassassin6380]

If that's the case, the whole game is a metaphor for the death of empires. When an empire falls, those most propped up by its institutions have the most to lose, while the people who are tied closest to the land often weather the change better. Farming is farming, smithing is smithing, etc. Mother Nature cares not for the rise and fall of nations, but merchants, bankers, and the ruling class certainly do.

[@kylegonewild]

Conflating "ambiguous" lore with "false" lore is a bit of an overreach. We have no proof Radagon isn't a descendant of giants, but we do have a lot of proof that he at least considered himself to be representative of their heritage. I have no particular problems with your pet theory regarding why the denizens of the lands between look the way they do though. It does kinda make sense animals without sentient souls wouldn't be part of the Erdtree's life cycle under the Golden Order. Life has seemingly flourished in this place since time immemorial, irrespective of the order which currently governs the elden ring. The only "animals" we see treated with any sort of special concern are the dragons, beastkin, and their descendants. Beastly creatures like the Misbegotten are treated as less than human slaves and it is unlikely the Erdtree under Marika's Golden Order ever bestowed upon them Erdtree rebirth. Edit: forgot the Death Rite Birds as another animal that gets special treatment from the lore, being sentient shepherds and representatives of death rites long past.

[@IncoisaRadio87]

The idea that all the sharp vines throughout Elden Ring are linked in some way is fascinating. "Iron vines" resembling barbed wire are used to punish the guilty, and the result was their discovery of aberrant sorceries, creating thorny vines out of their own blood, presumably taught by the "blood star" they found in the darkness without their eyes. The Erdtree protects itself with thorns, using thick, impenetrable vines to defend the gaping wound in its side from would-be invaders like the Tarnished. Godwyn's death and subsequent burial, an obvious defilement of the Golden Order of Marika the Eternal, resulted in the souring of the roots and spread of Deathblight. And now, after Godrick has grafted his flesh with other creatures, the castle he has laid claim to despite not being his own has been torn asunder by yet more thorns. In nature, there are many thorned vines that climb up the sides of trees, and as we all know that tree symbolism is very important in Elden Ring, it's not unlikely that the thorns are directly related to the Erdtree itself. It may not even be for punishment, as the thorns used on criminals are, as far as I can tell as a lore novice, artificial, implying they, if not the other vines, aren't made from the Erdtree. So what about the others? The Aberrant Sorceries were taught to those who had their eyes gouged out, for only then were they able to see their new teacher, the Blood Star. They had their eyes gouged to begin with as punishment for criminal deeds, and the sorceries themselves come from the blood of the caster, which is why they hurt to even cast. The ones protecting the Erdtree are to cover up the gaping cavity in its side, perhaps some form of injury, like a divine scab. It definitely has been there longer than the Tarnished's crusade for the Erdtree, as from what Morgott says, it seems to have been there as long as he's been Lord of Leyndell. Godwyn's bizarre death of soul but not body turned him into a cancerous mass that serves no purpose but to attempt to rebuild itself, something impossible without life within. Being buried in the Erdtree, it likely is attempting to infect the Erdtree itself. and then there's Stormveil. Not only is there signs of Godwyn's spread into the fortress underground, but this is also where Godrick would begin the process of grafting. What's the tie between all these things? The Erdtree's Thorns and Godwyn's Thorns are both signs of illness in the tree, and Godwyn's Thorns, the Aberrant Thorns, and Godrick's Thorns both seem to be tied to depravity and the profane. Perhaps thorns are a sign of perversion of the Golden Order, or something of the like. All this is ignoring the question that's been on my mind this whole time, though: if the vines in Stormveil are from Grafting, why are the exiles laden with thorns and decay, but Godrick himself is not?

[@1SolaireOFAstora1]

I've always wondered about the thorns on the exiles but clearly never read the shield description, another great video Zullie

[@ArturoDCC19]

as always your videos are awesome,thank you for your hard work Zullie the Witch

[@mkdmc]

I love watching these little nugget videos. I know it’s already been some time but I’m glad your back Zulie! I hope your break was restful :)

[@isaacbenzing5686]

so glad to see you back at it zullie, i hope youre doing well

[@DerpsWithWolves]

I notice, though, that most of the damage to the castle appears to be external in nature. Mostly along the outer walls, as if struck by magic during a siege. The edges of the holes are even bent outwards, suggesting a sudden, violent force, rather than a slow rot. Unlike the slow rot on the castle's denizens, I suspect the thorns are simply infesting the 'wounds' the castle received during the war of the shattering, and perhaps slowly making them worse like plants growing up through a sidewalk regardless of their source.

[@somerandombub]

I like this theory

[@ReneAensland]

Thank you for another awesome video! Love these dives into the Lore.

[@JtotheMeezy]

Thanks for another interesting video Zullie. We all hope you're doing well and taking care of yourself, we don't want you to burn yourself out for us ❤️

[@toodles3492]

This would also explain why the fire giants all have thorns in their bodies as well despite being a threat before Godwyn died. Something to keep in mind is that Godwyn is known as Godwyn The Golden. So he could very well have major aspects of the erdtree tied to his being and that could be the reason why deathblight has this golden hue sometimes and closely associated with thorns

[@davinsosa1438]

Wow. I never considered the ramifications of the Erdtree being able to dole out punishment in this way. Great work, as always 🖤

[@Johnny-tw5pr]

I played Elden Ring right after finished DS3 and oh man when I got to Stormveil I had flashbacks from Lothric Castle. It's really cool to see how similar they both are and knowing a few tricks from Lothric Castle actually helped traverse through Stormveil

[@Spleen2ween]

The writing on these vids just keeps getting better

[@harryquint7262]

Glad to have you back

[@Neptunequeen42]

I always assumed the thorns were Briars of Sin. The game says grace can become briars, so it would make sense that Godrick, with more grace than the average person, would also produce more briars than the average person when he turns to sin (grafting). I interpreted it as a brilliant early moment showcasing the malevolence of 'grace' as a tool of control by the greater will - if having grace is desirable, more and more people will be susceptible to this punishment if they disobey the greater will.

[@ScrawnyTreeDemon]

That's a good one! Saving this comment for inspiration

[@okname5335]

but how come godrick doesnt have vines or thorns or mottling and his eyes are still golden like morgots

[@alfalldoot6715]

Getting punished for sin is a bad thing I guess now

[@Neptunequeen42]

@@alfalldoot6715 It is when someone gets to decide wholesale what “sin” is. Do you trust a fungus from space to make decisions about whether or not you deserve to die? Do you think that space fungus’s morals perfectly align with yours? Don’t forget that refusing to be melted down alive and eaten by the erdtree is also a sin. would you agree to be “punished” for that?

[@kylegonewild]

@@alfalldoot6715 Sin as a very concept is subjective. What's even considered a sin in the lands between has likely changed over time. The fickle machinations of selfish and short-sighted gods should not be the measure by which one's actions are judged.

[@thatbloomer5642]

I wouldn't have guessed that they labeled that castle, as Edinburgh. I assumed it was Spikey or dungeon_1.

[@albertwesker4053]

I always thought the holes were from previous wars in the shattering, and that the briars over growing them was just to show age

[@elijahherstal776]

Don't forget ya boy, the Spellsword (I forget his name) that you meet here- he eventually croaks at the Roundtable Hold from a nasty case of thorn-cooties Or as the professionals call it: *Godwynorrhea*

[@LuisSanchez-fj6dt]

I remember when i first saw the godwyn corpse, it was so weird and terrifying

[@skycrown7083]

it seems like the thorns are like a creeping vine to try and draw life.

[@Tankboy-uv3lp]

I really like the erdtree theory but imo the deathblight theory makes a lot more sense being how its been shown to have an affect of the areas around it, although knowing fromsoft there is a chance for most things to be possible so i couldnt discount the other ideas

[@WithinandThroughout]

The Hanged Giant in this picture 1:40 always stuck out to me. Hanged Man is the tarot card that suggests ultimate surrender, sacrifice, or being suspended in time. It was guarded by two Scions. Names mean everything.

[@dannywatson4253]

Bear in mind that the grafting didn't start with Goodrich. Godfroy in the Evergaol is also grafted and being punished for it, though he has no thorns associated with him. It seems unlikely that Goodrich is the source of the thorns alone if his ancestor was not punished the same way.

[@fayelawless2625]

the colossal squid has claws on it's tentacles which strikes me as being very cool and also thematically in line with this

[@TheHonoredMadman]

The garrison of stormveil has quite literally become an embodiment of the whats become of the castle itself. Blasted to all hell and slowly being consumed by thorny vines

[@CoolJoePwns]

Before the video I assumed it was a clear case that Godwyn's corpse was responsible, but you did a great job presenting points in favor of the alternative reason. I love the Elden Ring's lore has this ambiguity, and that things like this are genuinely open to speculation.

[@cryofreezie3943]

I can’t believe this came out now. 6 months ago I was literally writing about the Scottish influence on Elden Rings design architecture for my final design essay

[@sarossoras5054]

The first one(grafting curse) is the myth, the 2nd one is the true reason, Godwyns corpse, it is also a way to make you explore deeper and find the reason for the castle and the soldiers looking like that.

[@okamiv5]

i also like the guess that godrick is trying to graft the thorns and is unintentionally spreading the death roots

[@blahl9436]

i was just going through stormveil the other day exploring the rooftops again on a new save. when i first played it i remember spending several hours in it, just going through every nook and cranny, and i didn't even find godwyn downstairs. it's very satisfying

[@jeffjefferson2853]

I've always been fascinated by grafting in this game. There's strong evidence the Erdtree was grafted onto the Crucible, and Serosh was grafted onto Godfrey. A giant portrait of Godfrey is featured in Godrick's grafting room in Stormveil, and Godrick exclusively grafts Tarnished limbs. Note that Tarnished are now the Greater Will's chosen, which is why Godrick seems be drawn towards grafting them, until nearing defeat, at which point he grafts a dragon (the Greater Will's chosen in an ancient age)

[@alfalldoot6715]

But the Crucible is the Erdtree, just in a more primal form

[@fragdoch-nicht1290]

My old pc just bugged out and as the video stuttered it created an amazing King's Field OST remix never to be heard again

[@DirtyMike124x]

Idk why but I keep reading the thumbnail as "Something is destroying my castle"

[@galaxydragon1234]

Actually you can even see how the eyes of the eyes of the exiles are truning yellowish, just like the chaos madness flames. Stromveil is truly a hellish place if you look deeper into it

[@Gray137]

Godrick may have been siphioning off of Godwyn to help fuel his grafting and attempt to achieve the same status through grafting, making the thorns be the result of both. I had that idea running through my head throughout the entire video

[@solaireofastora5999]

The amount of corpses lying about everywhere in the castle is bound to attract deathblight. The amount of grafting they do is insane and you just wonder where the hell they even got the bodies

[@leahl5007]

I love the spooky nature of the darkness in Elden Ring. It was so wild the first time i found Godwyn’s weird giant head!

[@Cobalt360Degrees]

The idea that Godrick's grafting project was so abhorrent to the Erdtree that its roots could somehow compel Godwyn's corpse to erode Stormveil from the inside out is such a cool idea. Or that the grounds were so steeped in blood that it basically drew Godwyn to it.

[@SpaiceCowboy]

To this day, godwyn's corpse never fails to creep me out

[@ServerYT]

Grafting could be what drew Godwyn to manifest a separate corpse all the way to Stormveil. All that death and decay could have made it easier for him to get involved.

[@danielv.6415]

I always assumed the holes where product of war. Always wondered which conflicted caused them but this makes so much sense

[@miquellabarowner]

Something I want to mention is how the Godwyn boss might be the massive sea creature boss you talked about in a past video.

[@Noremac023]

A video on the other real-life inspirations (in code or otherwise) for locations in Elden Ring would be fascinating!

[@menik6575]

Damn, this place has really fallen to pieces... ... ... Attaching people to me will help.

[@KazeMemaryu]

I'd like to think that the sheer amount of dismembered corpses strewn about the entirety of Stormveil is what attracted Godwyn's presence to begin with. The accumulation of death feeds the deathroot, and in turn, it corrupts those who are tied to Godrick's feverish hunt for grafting material. While the thorns on their armor is most likely a symbol of their sin, their illness is probably a creeping influence of Godwyn and his deathroot. The thorny briars stretching across Stormveil are much more likely to be from Godwyn alone. In a different video, you covered the cause of damage to the castle, mentioning an off-screen conflict that took part in the past. This likely killed a lot of people in the castle, but with Godrick lacking any respect for the Golden Order and its customs, the dead were never even considered for Erdtree Burial ceremonies, so they just rotted away where they laid. This also attracted the deathroot extending its thorns, accumulating death before some soldiers may have thrown the bodies off the cliffs.

[@lecrab8090]

Stormveil is the most intricate, well designed legacy dungeon in the entire game. They definitely put a ton of work into the earliest areas of the game and were a bit rushed toward the end.

[@VictorIV0310]

It was very unsettling just seeing the castle rot away like it's being torn from the inside out.

[@michaeljohnston8891]

What I find just as intriguing as the thorns is the holes and scars along the walls. They almost look like burn marks, and depending on the angle you look at them from, they seem to have this sickly black and yellow iridescence to them, which is unsettlingly similar to what we see on the door locking away the Three Fingers, albeit still glowing. Stormveil is also where we find our first Shabriri grape

[@okname5335]

WHICH WALL WHERE

[@michaeljohnston8891]

@@okname5335 mainly the outer wall you use to sneak in. It's hard to tell at first, but there's some sections of the wall that just have this weird shading to them that makes me think Frenzy

[@Brasswatchman]

Regarding Godwyn's second "corpse" found beneath the castle -- what if the assassins also cut off one of his legs or feet? And this piece of Godwyn - the "sacred relic" - was buried beneath Stormveil, his home, leading to it becoming the "second Godwyn" and resulting in the area's deathroot infection being particularly vicious? Meanwhile, his remaining leg eventually developed into his mermaid-like tail. What do you think? Edit: Alternatively, it occurs to me that the "sacred relic" could be his dong, if the Black Knife Assassins chose to castrate him along with killing his spirit. That would certainly explain why Rogier doesn't go into specifics.

[@gatowololo5629]

Awesome content as usual! So my engagement bar is filled.

[@itsawoodchuck4330]

Another major point to note, Leyndell’s walls are also covered in thorns where it was struck by artillery, same can be said for the field outside Leyndell’s wall were the Erdtree’s defender fired their own artillery at the besiegers. We know Stormvale was also besieged until Godrick came out to fight Melania. This leads me to believe that the artillery fired is what causes the holes and the thorns within them in the castle walls. It seems the type of ammunition they use in the lands between may have some sworn of thorns or magic containing them within the projectiles.

[@cybertruckeralpha]

Makes me wonder how much of the living Godwyn still exists within the god of death he became. If Godwyn is producing thorned branches as an act of punishment against his transgressors, I wonder how possible is that Godwyn, on even a subconscious level, finds Godrick's murderous obsession of reaching a divine state to be reprehensible.

[@truthchanMSV]

Oh god, I didn't notice those details on the exile soldiers, outside of the thorns. Makes my skin itch.

[@TheDanjaBus]

That Kings Field soundtrack slaps to this day.