Elden Ring Story & Endings Explained

[@adarshmohanty9074]

The best thing about Rahdan Festival is that when you summon Patches , he comes looks around and then a message appears "Patches has returned to his world"

[@cheafmin1399]

Hah! He nopes the fuck out.

[@kiritsuna1126]

Yeah I laughed my ass off when I first saw that lmao

[@chrisandreas3142]

That’s why He’s immortal

[@edsonsengo2684]

He "fuck this shit im out" out of there lol

[@SbkJay98]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@RevolverRez]

I love how during the Godfrey boss fight cutscene you can see the Guidance of Grace that normally points you towards bosses now pointing from Godfrey to YOU.

[@KhrolloGaming]

We were the boss

[@stevenc7877]

yea when i was going the golden route and this happened, i was like "OOOOOH so i struggled all the way to get here, to have my God turn on me!!!! May Chaos Take the World mfers!!!!" haha

[@CamusSewerCigarette]

damn that’s a really cool catch dude wtf

[@letzbereal22]

33:11 33:12 ​@@KhrolloGaming

[@azgx]

Greater Will be like "I know i cast you out before but can you help me again? I'll make you a lord again and promised wont cast you out again this time".

[@wackywackster114]

I love how when you got rejected by the Erdtree to become Elden Lord, you go back to the Roundtable Hold and you talk to Enia about why the Two Fingers are still and yeah, she tells you that they’re consulting with the Greater Will. I can just imagine the Two Fingers after us getting rejected by the Erdtree, goes to the Greater Will and says - “AY YO WTF WAS THAT FOR??”

[@shadowofhawk55]

And the Greater Will is just like "Nah mate, we are just making them work a little more. You know, for suspense......why are they setting my tree on fire?"

[@alroma5869]

The two fingers are like "wait what? the tarnished is rejected..? I need to consult something with the Boss, gimme a few centuries..."

[@arthurdurham]

@@shadowofhawk55 😂

[@GreyMASTA]

Also the fingers are like: Alright, I'll be calling the Greater Will for more info. You're gonna have to wait until I get an answer. That might take a few centuries tho."

[@a_peridox]

Enia be like: you're gonna set the tree on fire? Damn, oh well, do what you gotta do. None of my business lol

[@sonokawaray]

Interesting to know that Radahn was happy to grow out his red hair in honor of his much-respected father, given that (according to lore on the whip you can get from the Fire Giant) Radagon hated his own red hair because it reminded him of his fire giant ancestry. Come to think of it, would those fire giant genes have anything to do with why Radahn grew as huge as he did? I wonder.

[@Arthur_url]

9 months late, but a small correction: It isn't stated that Radagon had giant ancestry. The item description says: "Every giant is red of hair, and Radagon was said to have despised his own red locks. Perhaps that was a curse of their kind." To me, it is implied that the giants cursed Radagon with red hair after they were defeated by Marika (and in turn, Radagon). Maybe as a way to forever brand him with something that resembled the giants or something.

[@sonokawaray]

@Arthur_url Yeah, realized it later on after checking out more of the lore. Probably more likely (or at least the theory I'm going with currently) that Radagon used to be a Fire Monk who got the hair color as a result of being in cahoots with the Fell God for a time, before renouncing it and joining up with the Golden Order directly.

[@DragonZombie2000]

Yes it's a commonly known lore you aren't the first to discover it

[@lolololllll]

@@DragonZombie2000 chill he never said he is trying to be the first lol

[@GaMeRfReAkLIVE]

​@@Arthur_urli dont think its a literal curse, i think its a genetic thing he considered a curse

[@SH1NK1R01]

The greater will doesn’t seem to have ever intended for us to become elden lord at all. It led us to the tree but then deliberately locked the door and said “wait thousands of years for us to figure it out” on top of all of that the tree put up massive defenses within the capital despite the two fingers literally welcoming us there. We were never meant to succeed.

[@Ghst-yb6tv]

I mean Gideon himself says that tarnished were never meant to succeed

[@Orthanderis]

Marika was tired of being a puppet and Ranni refused to be turned into one. The tarnished were banished by Marika after her consort turned into one, destined to die and then return, wage war, and become elden lord. She even calls them "warriors of my lord. Lord godfrey." It seems to me that the prophecy was less for us to succeed the elden lord as it was for Godfrey to return and depose the greater will, and the tarnished were to be an army that was independent of the golden order. When Ranni stole the rune of death, it flipped the natural order of life, and Marika shattered the ring to sew the cracks in the golden order enough so she could call the tarnished home. The problem is that the Tarnished, through dying and returning, were unable to remember anything about themselves or how to wage war, and returned too staggered and uneven to actually do anything significant. Tldr; Yes, you were never meant to become elden lord. You are a wildcard who wasn't supposed to even be there.

[@loopygordo]

@@Orthanderis I thought Marika broke the elden ring out of grief when godwyn was killed. She was the first to remove the rune of death from the elden ring soon after she took power. In doing so she betrayed her half brother and shadow malekith, he even bound death to himself so that no one can ever steal it from him again.

[@jmarvins]

Seems true that the Will didn't want us to succeed, but it suggests an open question: why bother sending us on the wild goose chase in the first place instead of just letting us fail on our own misguided terms?

[@SH1NK1R01]

@@loopygordo the removal of the rune of death was done out of fear of death itself. Marika simply didn’t want death to be a thing for her dynasty. That’s why when she used her brother to seal it in his sword the Demi gods gained immortality. His obsession with not wanting to fail again seems to be driven by a desire to be accepted. This is in line with the consistency of poor treatment of all beastial people in the lands between. Maliketh had a title and station yet isn’t mentioned as part of the family nor given any respect in the annals of their history. Being the black blade was likely all he had ever been allowed to achieve. Failing to prevent the death of the first Demi god drove him mad.

[@brodyestes2376]

Age of Stars is the best ending because you literally get to become Elden Lord, get married to your maiden who becomes a God alongside you. Return the lands to their natural order, no more immortality and crazed demigods like Godrick and Rykard going on anymore, a new era that feels more natural and right, tame the frenzied flame, remove the influence of the greater will, and much more.

[@Aregulargameplayer]

The only downside to it is you and Ranni leave the Lands Between forever, because what point is there in making the land free from godly influence if the two gods left continue to stay? On the other hand, spending an eternity with your wife doesn't sound that bad.

[@atallahraihan478]

Finally!!! Getting some Maidens

[@wolfkinic2062]

Meanwhile there's me who chose the frenzy flame ending just to see the world burn

[@dontbothertoreply9755]

So basically MK XI ending.

[@danix4883]

@@Aregulargameplayer They only leave for a thousand years, in her dialogue she says that she's going to stop interfering for a thousand years and then she'll come back

[@UncleJaken]

Small correction - Tanith isn't just holding Rykard's body. She's EATING it, I assume so that the spirit of the serpent can overtake her and Rykard's will can live on.

[@exodus2oo]

That is her plan. But the Tarnished can choose to stop that from happening, if you catch me.

[@amateurasian]

She was just assuming that rykard will live from what she was doing, probably went cuckoo after knowing of his death and just put a face on you the tarnished that she didnt cared... But man, thats a lot of mukbang-ing

[@oceanman7336]

@@amateurasian shes gonna Livestream it

[@amateurasian]

@@oceanman7336 tanith be like : "hi guys! Today we'll be chowing down on lord rykards inards and see if we can get a speedrun record "

[@Daniel_deez_nutz]

I killed her then cause that was gross and nothing good happens from that stuff

[@TheRealAvrock]

Great video! Just a couple extra things: 1. In the Ranni ending, she doesn't put Marika's head back on her shoulders, she is just holding it up. She lets Marika die and fade away, and replaces her as a God. 2. Before the Golden Order, was just the plain ol' Order. This was after the Elden Ring came to the Lands Between but before Marika became a god. When she ascended, she removed the Rune of Death from the Elden Ring, creating the Golden Order. She then betrayed her Shadow, Malekith, by binding the Rune of Death to him; both getting rid of death and freeing herself from the possible betrayal of her Shadow. As shown in the Ranni quest, the Shadows are loyal first to the Greater Will, then to their Emperyons. Even if they don't want to, they are forced to attack their Emperyons if they go against the Greater Will. Getting rid of Malekith allowed Marika to later shatter the Elden Ring, though it's not exactly known why. It's possible this was to get a greater understanding of the Greater Order itself. I believe that Marika and Radagon were always the same person. I'm of the opinion that Marika came first, before she (or the Greater Will) created Radagon through the Rune of the Unborn. This Rune was later gifted to Rennala BEFORE the Elden Ring was shattered, the only way Radagon could have it was if he was already Marika. As for why Radagon was created in the first place, my theory is that this was done so Marika would better conform to the Golden Order. As shown in the Law of Regression/Causality incantations, the two known fundamentals of the Golden Order are Regression and Causality. Regression being the pull of meaning: all things returning to their roots, and Causality being the connecting between actions: cause and effect. I believe Marika represents Causality and Radagon represents Regression. My theory is that Marika shattered the Elden Ring in order to view it's connections, the changes caused by its destruction, and Radagon attempted to repair it to better understand Regression, returning it whole. This would also explain why Marika "wants us to keep struggling, for eternity", the more actions we do, the better she can understand Causality. 3. There was a time before the Erdtree and the Greater Will. This involved the Crucible of primordial life, referenced in the Misbegotten, Crucible Knights, and other creaters/items. From what I understand, it was basically a random evolution simulator, just throwing things together and hoping it worked. When the Greater Will came, it overtook the Crucible and gave things an order.

[@irtezanidalkhan76]

brilliant

[@-pepito]

Good job putting all that together

[@pati22236]

i love your explanation of marika and radagon always having been the same person! calling the two of them causality and regression considering their behavior when it comes to the elden ring is just brilliant

[@alexanderbaarsch697]

I mostly agree but the Crucible and the Dragon era may predate the Erdtree, but they don’t predate the Elden Ring or the Greater Will.

[@ryanscott2745]

Great stuff. I also believe that Radagon and Marika were always the same but Marika came first. I feel like it kinda tells you that by the note in front of the statue.

[@Upsetkiller456]

Radahn learning sorcery just so he can ride his horse is somehow super wholesome EDIT: Holy moly 11k likes.

[@juliabozzino288]

agree, radahn is really sweet. why are all stories sad in fromsoft games?!

[@Ashurman666]

@@juliabozzino288 You're not allowed to be happy in a Souls game, period.

[@juliabozzino288]

@@Ashurman666 hahaha yea, I've noticed

[@sugoipapi2572]

That horse still lookin' like he strugglin' tho fr

[@riverajustinmarks.]

@@sugoipapi2572 probably not getting the food it needs and no, the body of the fallen soldiers does not count as horse food.

[@innavsky]

Something I noticed during the Rykard fight was that on the sword he pulls out of the serpent's mouth, all the hands have two fingers. However, once you've killed him and revisit when Tanith is eating his corpse, all the hands coming out of him have three fingers.

[@joeyh31]

Oh wow nice observation

[@buddakream978]

So maybe each time he's defeated the hands grow a new finger. I wonder if this carries into NG+ EDIT He has two fingers in the fight but 3 after you've defeated him so he grew a new finger after being defeated. So it stands to reason if he resurrects and is killed once more he would come back with four fingers right?

[@hellobrowhyisme]

@@buddakream978 what

[@dimisbam7725]

@@buddakream978 yes wut????

[@h-lad]

@@buddakream978 uh huh, que?

[@h0m3st4r]

From what I see, there's one neutral ending (default), three good endings (Ranni, Fia, and Brother Corhyn), and two bad endings (Dung Eater and Three Fingers). The Two Fingers want to maintain the status quo, installing the player as the new Elden Lord and consort to Marika, but Ranni, Fia, and Brother Corhyn all see the world as broken and want to fix it in different ways. Corhyn wants to basically restore the physics of the world to how they were before the Shattering; Fia wants to remove the curse of immortality so that all things can properly die; and Ranni wants all living things to live on their own terms without some eldritch abomination's guidance. And then, there's the other two. They just want to watch the world burn-literally, in the Three Fingers' case.

[@freshlymemed5680]

Ranni's is honestly up to interpretation. She calls it the age of the moon, but it could also just refer to the stars as well which imo is definitely not a good thing because we all know where eldritch beings come from.

[@jamaledwards8118]

@@freshlymemed5680 Naw Ranni plan is to do away with the greater will. The thing is Ranni is either right or wrong. It all depends on the situation Marika had the world in before the war broke out. If it was good and decent than Ranni selfish ways killed the world because she didn't want to be the next Marika as the greater will choosed her. Once Godwyn died the whole thing went to shit. Ranni ending is pretty much leaving the land between going beyond. She's wants to remove the greater will and give people a chance for themselves which is honestly creating another game of thrones. Best ending is us being elden ring or helping Ranni and maybe the influence of both can change the world in a positive way.

[@RedEyesSg]

What is to say that the Greater Will isn't an eldritch being itself? The Elden beast, vasal of the Greater Will, has similar movesets to Astel, a grotesque eldritch entity. Brother Corhyn's/Gold mask ending is complete subjugation to this "benevolent" elder god that manipulates and discards its mistakes -- it's a direct opposite of Ranni's ending.

[@uchihanoborei02]

I think Ranni's ending is strongly related to the lore of the eternal cities, we should not forget that Astel is the boss at the end of Nokron. There are more outer gods than the greater will, the 3 fingers are an example because they are surely related to someone else than the greater will. The formless mother might also be one of them and in my opinion the whole Age of the Stars ending and the whole Ranni questline is related to another god entirely. If you think about it they are all searching for and Elden Lord, Mohg is trying to be one with Miquella (instructed by the formless mother), Ranni took that spot with you as consort and the 3 fingers gave you the power of the frenzied flame for when you became the Elden Lord. All of this follows the same path, just like Marika and the greater will need and Elden Lord to complete the Elden Ring

[@freshlymemed5680]

@@RedEyesSg No one said it isnt. The greater will is definitely an outer god from space. The only other outer god we know of is the Formless Mother. The other god could possibly be tied to the flame of frenzy but we don't exactly know what that god is.

[@DergyDauog]

This made me see Radahn in a totally different way. Learning sorcery so he can keep his horse. Looking up to and following in his father’s footsteps. Deciding to endure the suffering in order to die honourably. I wonder if a lot of his suffering wasn’t even from the rot, but from his pain of having to live off of the flesh of old fighters he likely respected. He seemed like the embodiment of respect.

[@Methos_]

pre-nerf Radahn sure as shit didn't respect my mental lmao

[@RevanReborn3950BBY]

@@Methos_wait until you see the dlc

[@okabc-ho9xw]

real ​@@RevanReborn3950BBY

[@ItheauthorityI]

It's been suggested that Ranni and Rennala served an outer god symbolically represented as the full moon. So her ending brings her outer god into power in the lands between instead of the Greater Will. This also explains why the Greater Will went to war with the academy (Rennala and Radagon met on the battlefield of that war). The giants also served an outer god of their own and were waged war against by the Greater Will. Before the Greater Will, a different outer god ruled the Lands Between and its Elden Lord was the Dragonlord but the dragons were abandoned by their god for unknown reasons.

[@gluelake]

So this world has been a chessboard all along...

[@ryan_chew97]

suddenly the Moon Presence comes down ...

[@wiisportsmatt9775]

​@@ryan_chew97 "Our eyes are yet to open"

[@Umezete]

@@gluelake Pretty much

[@Umezete]

To add to this, Ranni likely met the Dark Moon of the Eternal City. It's unclear what this is but it's said Astral attack the dark moon and it's eternal city

[@PoguliPogalu]

I'm pretty sure Hoarah Loux is his real name and he adopted the Godfrey name when he married Marika, it is said that he used Serosh to tame his rage and conqueror spirit and from that point he took on the name Godfrey. So it makes sense that he goes back to his Hoarah Loux's personality when killing Serosh

[@c0mplex_Ale]

What an awesome bossfight, doing it in context, seeing him put down his Elden Lord armor and his axe and fighting you as Hoarah Loux, a real Tarnished man with his own flesh and bare chest. What a legendary man.

[@PoguliPogalu]

@@c0mplex_Ale that's true, him and Radahn both are legends. I would have loved to see prime Radahn, before he became feral due to the Scarlet Rot. I also love how From Soft jebaited us in the trailers, making it seems as Malena was the "good" guy and Radahn the "bad" guy. But in reality Radahn is one of the most honorable and faithful of champions out there. That's why the Festival was made, because his soldiers wanted to give him a dignified exit. And Malena is a coward and prideful warrior, making it seems as she never lost in battle but then you realize she had to nuke a whole region only to end up in a tie with Radahn.

[@c0mplex_Ale]

@@PoguliPogalu I can't get over how Radhan is so strong Malenia had to literally nuke the whole fucking region but he still didn't lose.

[@PoguliPogalu]

@@c0mplex_Ale exactly, strongest dude out there

[@druinofodd1762]

And when he left on his long march, he was god-free

[@sabrina0013]

With Rennala's egg, I got the impression she thought Ranni was still dead and had been trying to rebirth her. It doesn't seem like Ranni has had much public interactions since she slew her mortal form, and it might be knowledge only entrusted to Iji, Seluvis and Blaidd

[@LGkojin]

i believe so

[@mukash1838]

I think Egg is somewhat transmitter between Ranni's doll body. In second phase we can hear Ranni's voice slipping through the darkness. Perhaps Rennala wanted to rebirth Ranni as a human/demigod, not doll.

[@imtrash2812]

​@@mukash1838 like i know the Egg belong to Radagon, one day he leave and that break her heart so much that why she always holding the egg, Rannala phase 2 not really her, that just a magic spell like illusion cast by Ranni, a perfect shape of Rannala back then she used to be a champion before Radagon leave

[@emil1376]

@@mukash1838 yes I think this is true aswell.

[@GamezJohn]

@Kelly ayla I like this theory the most

[@SaltyNard]

During Godfrey's cutscene where he holds Morgott in his arms, you can see a stream of Grace guiding you towards him. His eyes are glintless, he cannot see Grace as he once did, but so are yours as the player. Does this mean both Godfrey and you can see the Grace, pointing towards each other, insinuating you're each others' bossfights?

[@fawazahmed4978]

idk

[@Heatwave9000]

Isn't godfrey a tarnished aswell? It makes sense if so

[@SaltyNard]

@@Heatwave9000 He became the first Tarnished yes, as well as the first Elden Lord, I think he lost the latter title when the glint in his eyes vanished, he was no longer guided by Grace and therefor, unfit to stay Elden Lord. But he knew to find you there, as a Tarnished he was an outcast, like you the player, but you have the Light of Grace despite it. In short, there's no way Godfrey would know about you, unless he were following you, or was guided to you by something. This is a world of magic, but he was cast out. There is the off chance he was watching his brother(?) Morgott when he was felled, and followed you since then, or perhaps, destroying his golden ghostly form alerted him, but idk how that would work, nor where he was/went after he got cast out.

[@abhimanyuverma1274]

Its actually the other way around. The Greater Will, by the time you find Godfrey knows that your intent is to get rid of the Greater Will or at least damage it somehow (which is what every ending is about with Ranni's ending getting rid of Greater Will all together). In that time, just like you were brought back by the Grace of the Greater Will to mend the Elden Ring and become King Consort to Queen Marika, Godfrey is brought back to The Lands Between with his Grace guiding him towards you. His Guidance is to kill you. And in the cutscene, if you look closely, the direction of the guidance of grace is not towards Godfrey. Its from Godfrey towards you but you can see it too since you can see the guidance since the very beginning. This is proved that Godfrey, who was once driven away from the Lands Between has now been called back when he says that "Elden Ring rests nearby. Alas! I am returned." His guidance is guiding him to kill you.

[@abhimanyuverma1274]

@@SaltyNard What?? Morgott was Godfrey's son. Godwyn The Golden, Morgott and Mogh were what are known as the Golden Lineage. Even the video gets it wrong. Hourax Loux came first. When Marika chose Hourax Loux to be her King Consort, he had to stop the bloodlust that made him a great warrior. He had to be more civilized as he was to be a Lord now. So he took Serosh, The Lion on his back to simmer down his aggressiveness. Then he was know as Godfrey, The First Elden Lord. Not the other way around. Godfrey was guided by the Greater Will towards you as you can see a guiding light flowing from Godfrey towards you. He was given the Grace back only to stop you just like you were given the Grace to mend the Elden Ring and become Elden Lord. When the light was guiding you, it used to point in whichever direction you were supposed to go. For Godfrey (as he too is a tarnished), his guidance was pointing him towards you which is why he is able to find you. The Greater Will, realizes your intention and decided to send the first Elden Lord to get rid of you.

[@amirrezamirzaei9515]

godrick isn't a child of marika. enia's dialouge states "But remember one thing. The demigods are each and all the direct offspring of Queen Marika. Godrick the Grafted was but a distant relation... The runt of the litter, his divine blood sorely diluted".

[@ishallnomonyou]

However it doesn't disprove that he wasn't exactly part of the family... I think it opens up the possibilities of Marika having a sibling who might've had their own children and godrick is something like a cousin?

[@nowanimportant8887]

@@ishallnomonyou Godrick's apparently the son of Godfrey, first elden lord.

[@ishallnomonyou]

@@nowanimportant8887 I believe it, probably conceived before godfrey married marika that’s why he’s the bastardized child since marika isn’t his mother maybe

[@FluffyWuffy17]

@@nowanimportant8887 It's confusing with all the names being the same, but he's a supposed to be a descendant of Godwyn. I think it's supposed to be quite a few generations apart. Time gets a bit warped when dealing with immortals. So he's something like Marika and Godfrey's great great great great great great great great great grandson. It's kinda like how all living people of European descent are related to Charlemagne, but it's so far back that it's meaningless. Hence why he's just barely on the level of a demigod.

[@nowanimportant8887]

@@FluffyWuffy17 Nah, Godwyn has no son that we know of. Godrick's just the runt of the golden lineage, last of Godfrey's children.

[@fishnutz5196]

Ranni's quest and ending is just so damn dope. From Rahdan to Nokron then Nokstella, Lake of Rot. Just such a good quest plus pretty much gets you the Lichdragon fight too.

[@mogang___1802]

where is the lich dragon, never found it

[@kanyecole8673]

@@mogang___1802 Lich dragon for Fia quest line while doing Ranni there’s a path of to the side where you can get there

[@Ian-hz8fl]

Yeah but they totally Ruined her boss fight

[@lt_johnmcclane]

Don’t you’d dare forget the best boss of all time, Fia’s Champions.

[@WarlockLov3]

Nice. I beat the game with the Age of Stars ending, and I think its genuinely the best. Currently attempting the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending. Good Video!

[@dylandang7365]

The end where you get a maiden

[@MakeTrapsGreatAgain]

You get a babe

[@marcoruiz502205]

Maidenless no more uwu

[@wealthybone2990]

You're only say it's the best because you're a simp but for real I mean it's a fine ending but not the best.

[@tallspartan117]

I really want to learn more about the the frenzied flame seems super interesting like with the two finger to the three finger it reminds me of kaathe juxtapose to frampt also the frenzy flame and the corruption of oolacile. Though I do not know what the goals of the three fingers are the only reason I know about it is in the trailers so this is more like speculation on my part but from loves to reuse the same themes in there games.

[@landongatchell5136]

I think it is actually possible to make sure Melina survives while also choosing Ranni's ending. If the player accepts the Three Fingers before using the Forge of the Giants, Melina will leave our side, as we already know. BUT, if we use Miquella's Needle to reverse the Lord of Frenzied-Flame, we can then choose Ranni's ending instead while Melina still being alive but having left our side.

[@seraphazrael4218]

What really sucks is that the game then NEVER brings up Melina again if you banish the Frenzied Flame with the needle. I think it’s really disappointing, because I really like Melina and wish she got a satisfying ending with the tarnished, because currently our only choices are let her commit suicide or make her despise us. Really hoping it’s something they touch up in a DLC, because her character is something they could explore much more.

[@junfour]

This is what I did. Literally the simp for Melina run. I was hoping that she would come back, but she never did. :(

[@peterbullimore7150]

That's fortunate because I just inherited the frenzied flame and nearly punched myself in the dick when Melina left me. But knowing I can save her by doing so is a comfort

[@guiltygearalonecompl]

I let her fry lol giggled while it happened, knowing I would choose the Ranni ending

[@bigmackstar1]

​@@guiltygearalonecompl Seems a little weird to giggle about it

[@lordsoth0374]

A lot of people have misunderstood fia's ending what really happens is that the rune restores the order with the principle of life in death as part of it, it's said in the description: "Rune gestated by Fia the death bed companion, used to restore the fractured elden ring when brandished by the Elden lord. Formed of the two hallowbrand half wheels combined, it will embed the principle of life within death in the order. The golden order was created by confining destined death. Thus, this new order will be one of death restored". So yes destined death is restored but undeath is also part of the order.

[@sasaki999pro]

It would help if the game wasn't so sloppily translated by the english localization staff. This has always been a reoccuring issue, it was especially bad in bloodborne which lead the general public to believe the games lore was a bunch of vapid shallow nonsense babbling between "eyes" and "blood" interchangeably when the true message was completely lost in translation.

[@lordsoth0374]

@@sasaki999pro yes it's true there are lot of wrong translation, like the one about time being convoluted in dark souls 1.

[@darthsonic4135]

My interpretation of the Age of Stars ending was partially like yours, in that it allowed everyone to think for themselves without divine intervention once again. But far more fantastically, we essentially reformat the universe into one more like the real one. That is, instead of some weird non-Euclidean fantasy pocket universe, we now live in a proper universe with billions of light-years and galaxies and star systems and proper planets.

[@sullainvictus]

aka the bad ending

[@darthsonic4135]

@@sullainvictus the fuck are you on about lad?

[@sullainvictus]

@@darthsonic4135 what you're describing is the bad ending.

[@00mommy00]

@@sullainvictus how so?

[@lil_caullii5011]

@@sullainvictus How's it the bad ending?

[@ehko9989]

I see a lot of people glimpsing over everything surrounding the godslayer cult, the black flame dudes. They are found throughout the game, and most of the time in key areas like divine towers or farum azula. The item descriptions related to these bad boys talk about a dusk-eyed queen who got defeated by Maliketh at some point. My first ending was the frenzied flame ending and when I saw the extra cutscene with Melina and I saw her other eye, I immediatly thought that she was related somehow to this dusk-eyed queen. She tells us early on that she's burned and bodyless. This indicates clearly that she took a hit from a weapon imbued by the rune of death, just like Godwyn and Ranni. But what I find really odd is that Melina never interacts with us during Ranni's questline, but if she was Ranni, or another part of her, she would surely come into contact with us at some point, either to guide us to this questline or to give us some kind of cryptic hint to the fact that she's indeed related to Ranni. Also, Ranni is very clearly versed into the art of sorcery, while Melina only shows faith related spells and attacks when you summon her against Morgott. Also, it is stated in the Black Flame ritual incantation that the dusk-eyed queen was an empyrean when she was alive. And she's most likely not cursed like Mohg and Morgott and yet her name start with a "M", just like Malenia and Miquella, implying that she might be a third Empyrean born under Marika and Radagon or a sister to Marika. Last thing about Melina possibly being related to the dusk-eyed queen, the only godskin placed outside an important location is the one in Dominula, the windmill village. But this is where you can get your hands on the Fire's Deadly Sin incantation, the very act Melina asks you to perform after you defeat Morgott. The dusk-eyed queen might also not be related to Melina for all I know of course, since the queen's former servants all use black flames and Melina only uses gold incantations against Morgott, and she never interacts with you around godskin related areas. But this part of the lore seems really odd to me because it is tied to major themes and events of the game and yet not a single NPC talks about the black flame, the dusk-eyed queen or the godskin apostles.

[@travispeayarlal1485]

maybe they will elaborate more in a future DLC? i was always intrigued by the God slayer characters and I was very fond of using the GOD SLAYER greatsword for obvious reasons

[@Caedus696]

Dunno if you have caught up to this or studied it further, but there is videos out there where you can confront Ranni about the godslayer cult and black blades. She openly admits that she created the black blades by stealing a piece of the rune of death. She then put the cursemark of death on her body, which we can find in the divine tower after she gives us the item.

[@ancorey25]

My money is that Ranni is the daughter of Radagon alone and thus an Emperian as Emperian have a single parent who is a God but at the same time Radagon's other half Merika had Melina in the same way as Radagon had/created Ranni (we don't know how a single God gives "birth" to a Emperian child, I assume it isn't in the conventional way a human would) I believe Melina is to Ranni what Radagon is to Marika and they may have not even know of each other for some time. I also believe during this time is when Queen Marika had turned against the Greater will and the fingers and began her plot to shatter the Elden Ring and rid herself of the Greater Wills control and thus kept Melina a secret and had her raised in secret, perhaps by the black knife Assassins which she has connection to. I mostly entertain that though because Melina fights like black knife Assassin but uses her own Emperian demi God powers where the Assassins power comes from the black blades they weld. This is also during the time she stripes Godfrey of his grace and sends him and his tarnished warriors into exile which she even states a time will come when she needs them again. Perhaps when the Elden ring is shattered? We know the black knife Assassins assisted Ranni and that they are connected to Marika and also to the lost city who where / are openly opposed to the greater will and worship the stars and thus their excile underground but at some point they turn on Ranni as they are shown trying to kill her, Perhaps Ranni's plan no longer coincide with Marikas plan. Interesting observations: Ranni's body is found burnt to a crisp, there is a godskin noble guarding the bridge leading to her. Iji is killed and is on fire with black flames surrounded by the corpses of black knife Assassins suggests that the black knife Assassins are working with the godslaying cult. Melina at one point says she was born in the Erdtree where only Marika may enter which heavily proves Marika is her mother and was given a purpose which was taken from her and she wants to know why she is now burned and bodyless which suggests to me when Ranni used the rune of death to kill her Emperian flesh she also caused Melina to combust and lose her body but not her soul. This happens because Ranni and Melina are the same being but not the same personality like Radagon and Marika. This maybe was not part of Queen Marika's plan and why the Assassins turn on Ranni and why Ranni goes into hiding and starts using Renna's name and why Melina has lost the ability to fulfill her purpose given to her by her mother. I also think Ranni knows of Melina but Melina may not actually know of Ranni. Ranni seems to obsessed with controlling her own destiny and has plans where as Melina seems to be lost without her purpose given by her mother and is in search of new direction to be given to her. Polar opposite personalities likely due to how each where raised. Melina after the Erdtree seems to be dissatisfied with what she encountered when she left you to find her mother and now is hell bent on destroying the Erdtree to right the world for a better future which is implied not her original purpose nor in accordance to her mother's plan. What is Marika's plan? We don't know but it maybe as simple as the fact that the fingers have been grooming her Emperian children to succeed her, why would a undying God need a successor? We know Marika doesn't want to die as her first action once obtaining the Elden Ring was to remove the rune of death from it so she and her children would be immortal which may not have been the Greater Will's wishes. Lastly we know that the Greater Will is not the original or only divine power in this world and that like the greater will they all come from beyond the stars. The dragons once rules these lands but something happened causing them to enter a form of hibernation due to their God and during that time the world was taken by another power or powers as we also know Marika had her first Elden Lord Godfrey conquer the lands from the fire giants who had their own god and Radagon Lacaria an area which followed no God but derived power from the stars. Also we can't forget the hidden cities who worship the stars and had their own God but where banished to live underground and still plot the downfall of the Greater will. Or the godslayer cult and their Emperian Dusk eyed Queen who was defeated apparently by Malikith and once controlled the rune of death. If she was Emperian who were her parent(s) and when did she rule? Before Marika? During Marika or maybe after Marika implying it maybe the period in which Ranni had stolen the rune of death or perhaps Melina? It is never stated HER name but it is mentioned that she was an Emperian, Ranni was known but Melina was not. Maliketh defeated the dusk eyed Queen but it isn't said she died or was even banished. All we know is Marika, Ranni, the dark blade Assassins and the godslaying cult all have a complex intertwining relationship. Unfortunately I feel like we may never know, after carefully playing through a second time with a focus on side quests and lore paying careful attention to every item description and conversation one thing that seems clear is our interactions with Melina seem incomplete, we can never ask her questions and more importantly she does ask us questions and we have no options to respond just sitting there in awkward silence before we just stand up and walk away. I think its clear there was originally supposed to be more to our interactions with Melina at the campfires and I believe it was cut to get the product to shelf. There are other examples in game of cut content but the obviously oddly awkward campfire Melina conversations just screams something is missing and Melina herself is just to random a answerless mystery character seemingly without a point but with so much obviously hinting or connecting her to key plot elements. Feels like not just Game of Thrones didn't get a ending. He writes a good world full of plot and mystery but doesn't seem able to ever tie up the story and just abandons it to start his next unfinished masterpiece.

[@ehko9989]

@@Caedus696 the scene you're referring to only talks about the creation of the black knifes. But the black knifes and the godskins are two different groups. Supposedly, the godskins are in the lands between since way before the night of the black knives. Since it is known that there are some severe mistranslations, it is possible that they are related but right now from what the english translation tells us, they are not. Also, Ranni clearly tell us that she killed herself, but every descriptions talking about the defeat of the dusk-eyed queen explicitly says that Maliketh defeated her himself.

[@theexperience5549]

@@ancorey25 Good endings are the hardest things to write

[@VirgilAspect]

I'm pretty sure Godrick was a descendant of Godfrey through Godwyn, and not actually the son of Godfrey himself. Kenneth Haight calls him a descendant of Godfrey, and he calls him the last of the golden order. Godrick calls out to his "forefathers one and all" during his battle, suggesting there are more ancestors of his that are part of the golden lineage than just Godfrey

[@zeroyal4595]

I'm glad someone else besides me knows there stuff

[@osenseii5460]

I was looking for this comment

[@HackmannT]

Also, Morgott and Mogh are children of Godfrey and Marika, that's why they rule over Leyndell.

[@madMILL3R]

One thing that I noticed you were wrong on was the part about Tanith and Rykard after he dies. They aren't trying to let him reform, she ate his body and is still eating him to attempt to gain his power as he did to many of his victims. They still believe in what Rykard believed in but they believed he was too weak to lead them. She mentions that finishing devouring him will take some time and as it should considering how shes just some tiny chick eating a whole serpent.

[@notslimshady2943]

The world Miyazaki and George created is incredible, I can’t wait for the future of this game

[@innerg_92]

Agreed completely

[@seabeast2438]

DLC will be awesome, I think miquella will be cool to see. Also it would be freaking amazing to fight the outer gods, and its Fromsoftware so anything on the table

[@merc9nine]

What future

[@PraiseChika]

Rennala isn't a Demigod btw. Gideon at the roundtable hold: "But Rennala herself is no demigod. Her beloved, Radagon, left her to become Queen Marika's second husband, taking the title of King Consort. The Great Rune dwells withing the amber egg that was Radagon's gift to her."

[@forvandlingen8155]

Rennala was a human yes. It's clear. But she had demi-god children with radagon which is also Marika. It's a really freaky world but as more people dig deep its slowly coming together and making sense

[@yegor2]

The great rune has unborn in the name, so adds up.

[@RyneTurner]

agreed. I think her great rune was given to her by Ranni (perhaps to protect her).

[@Savaril]

@@forvandlingen8155 Yes but her not being a demigod is why Ranni is an Empyrian

[@Cat-eu2rc]

@@Savaril Miquella and Malenia are Empyrean, and neither have a human parent. Only a god-parent.

[@TheAromortis]

Awesome video, helped me understand a lot. My only issue is when you return to Rykard's arena, Tanith isn't actually "holding" him, shes devouring his body in hopes that he'll be reborn inside her. "Allow me some time. Our lord's carcass is vast and not easily consumed. Dear Rykard, please find purchase within me, I wish to be your serpent; your family. One day, let us devour the gods together."

[@samf.s.7731]

She's insane I swear. I mean, he's cray cray for sure, but it's like she saw how cray he is and went like "That's so attractive", which I guess makes her even crazier than he was.

[@prayoga4419]

Ranni: 'we're going into world of doubt, fear, and loneliness' Me: wait, what ? Ranni: 'Shall we?' * offers her 2 hands * Me: *yes, my queen*

[@lolifico_banzago]

Tfw that the MC did that just to spite the dude who called him Maidenless

[@oponomo]

"and in my first act as queen, to offer loneliness to the first being, you, i shall disappear from your sight forever. Goodbye."

[@KaiKrimson56]

@@lolifico_banzago This ending also causes Seluvis to die, so that's another benefit.

[@M3cronom]

Honestly, in my first playthrough I had no Idea what I was doing there story-wise all the time and I thought Rannis was the "good ending", but at the point she gave that speech I was like "... well, guess its too late to turn away now, huh?"

[@KawPad]

the reason it is "doubt and loneliness" is because people don't yet know how to live without the greater will telling them what to do. Its the same thing pretty much every person experiences when they step into the adult world. No one tells you what to do, you have to figure it out yourself. i think it something like this

[@GheistXin]

Another thing to add to the Melina and Ranni are related theory: When we first meet Ranni as 'Renna', she will give us the Spirit Calling Bell and the Lone Wolf Ashes. Ranni tells us right there that she was asked by Torrents former owner (which is Melina, as far as we know) to give us the Bell. This wouldn't be possible if Melina and Ranni didn't know each other. Ranni also doubts that we'd meet again after that, us meeting her later is something she didn't see coming.. so I think she genuinely wanted to respect Melinas wishes. This ofcourse leads to the question why Melina didn't just give us the bell herself, for which I frankly don't have any answer. edit: By the way, I finished the Age of Stars ending with Melina still alive, and nothing changes for that ending, sadly. The only Ending interaction Melina gets is with the Frenzied Flame ending.

[@MeldinX2]

I'm thinking they might be the same person. Ranni is the spirit/soul seperated for the body Melina. Since both has a mark at their eyes, but the opposite eye. And in the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending melina opens that eye and it's blue. Just a thought.

[@GheistXin]

@@MeldinX2 Yeah that's also what I thought, but what's strange about that is that you can find Rannis body at the top of the Divine Tower in Liurnia, and when Godwyn's soul died, Rannis body also died. There must be something else going on with Melina, even if they are the same person. By the way, Melina looks *a lot* different in the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending, nearly as if she somehow got burnt (black/grey hair, burn marks/scars and ashen skin on her hands) - but that also happens if you yourself are the kindling and Melina never sacrifices herself. I wonder if that's a hint to who she is?

[@MeldinX2]

@@GheistXin What i find is wierdest is that her normal eye is white, almost if she is blind in the ending. While the closed eye is now open and blue. Kind of like she has awakened or become someone else.

[@scanlinespectre]

I think there’s a possibility that Renna and Ranni are actually two different dolls being controlled by Melina, and that could also explain the confusion with the Empyrean situation. I feel like there’s more mystery there, and Melina is pulling strings. This could also be a puzzle piece on how to unlock the additional ending/endings.

[@GheistXin]

@@scanlinespectre That's an interesting theory, to say the least. I just remembered that Melina has some dialogue when going up the Mountaintop of Giants, saying something about being guided by her mother deep within the Erdtree - could it be that Melina is an unconfirmed child of Marika? This would make her at least a half-sister to Ranni, explaining why the two seem to share a connection and know each other. Or it could feed into the theory that Ranni and Melina are actually the same person, or two parts of one person, just like Radagon and Marika. edit: I just looked it up and it's actually even earlier that she reveals: "Me, I'm searching for my purpose given to me by my mother inside the Erdtree long ago, for the reason that I yet live, burned and bodyless."

[@Noxoth233]

I think the twist with radagan and marika can be explained with Godfrey's exile, as some people were discontent with the removal of the death rune and Godrick, being a weak child meant that the golden order might have lost confidence in Godfrey as elden lord, thus removed him, choosing and potential controlling radagen through some sort of mental manipulation. remember, radagen preformed a sacred rite to the golden order in the church of vows when he married rennala, so its not too far fetched to assume that the golden order meddled there. it also would explain how ranni became an empyrean and why she felt it so fundamentally wrong. The golden order was influencing and potentially warping radagen before her birth and after, her discomfort stemming from a sense that something else twisted her to its use. After gaining more control of radagen and manipulating him to become the second elden lord, the golden order now had two beings under its direct control, and decided to merge them into a stronger being, instead of potentially having a repeated disappointment like it had with godfrey. However, while these two were merged in body, they wern't in mind, and marika might have began to fight the control, resulting in the shattering, while radagen was still under the thrall of the goden order, either by choice or not. So we have two wills fighting for supremacy here, and I think it was marika who sent out the call to the tarnished, hoping the rise of a new elden lord could help her fight back, where as the golden order and radagen rejected the tarnished, probably thinking they could wait and given time, collect the pieces of the elden ring from the tarnished and make a new, proper vessel. and now that I think about it, that might just be the golden orders ultimate goal, why it rejected Godfrey when his progenitors failed to meet its standards, it was looking for what it thought was a proper vessel, and used marika to produce strong offspring in the hopes of finding a proper being to house itself in.

[@crossyright9493]

I like this theory. Its amazing

[@srafid39]

great explanation

[@italomarcos3955]

I think that Morgott and Mohg are cursed sons of Godfrey so after they and Godrick, Marika and the Golden Order banished Godfrey so Marika can find a consort more suitable like Radagon

[@AquaMaryn.]

@@italomarcos3955 Interestingly enough, Marika herself seems to be the originator of the curses. Mogh and Morgott are both Fell Omens, Miquella is cursed with never aging, Melania had the Scarlet Rot... A lot of item descriptions also mention her cursing people. What intrigues me is why the Greater Will insists on having Marika as the vessel for the Elder Ring despite her numerous flaws and the Shattering.

[@adanneo6580]

This just clears a lot of my confusion. Very well done theory

[@HavikXIII]

So about Godfrey/Hoarah Loux, he was actually the chieftain of the badlands before he was consort to Merika. I dont remember which item descriptions I saw this in, but she felt she needed a powerful warrior to be her consort since she would need strong offspring or something. He was basically unrefined as Hoarah Loux, a savage barbarian unfit to be lord. So he took Sarosh to quell his lust for battle and be worthy of being Merika's consort. That's why after he kills Sarosh, he reverts back to what he was before he was Lord

[@CryptTheNecromancer]

I think the Age of stars ending might be the best route to go for me. I love Ranni, and all the characters shes affiliated with, especially when you pledge service to her. Blaidd is my favorite character by far, but his end really hit me hard.

[@guitarxgaming64]

Yeah that whole sidequest story was great. Shame how it turned out for our boy Blaidd though

[@CryptTheNecromancer]

@@guitarxgaming64 DLC could be full of wolf people though oOwOo

[@soberscrim299]

@@CryptTheNecromancer wouldn’t be surprised if they expanded on Furry-Guts Backstory and history

[@thealarm7057]

Actually at the end, it's you who hits him hard. Badumtss

[@CryptTheNecromancer]

@@thealarm7057 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@TheNightmareKing]

You did a really amazing job with this video. Sometimes, there are critical pieces of dialogue that aren't repeated, so it's easy for someone like me to miss things if something/someone else is distracting you while you play. So, thank you for cataloguing all this info! One thing I'll add (and I'm no lore expert, so take with a grain of salt) is that I don't think Marika/Radagon are ever alive in the game, as you say. When you meet them, they appeared shattered with the Elden Ring (which appears inside them). I think the shattering of the ring killed Marika/Radagon, who had inherited its power earlier. Furthermore, when you mend the ring, you're literally mending Markia's corpse. It looks like the Greater Will is hoisting Marika's corpse within the Erdtree when you enter, and she appears pierced by the Rune of Death (verify, anyone?). I think when the game begins, she is long dead but the Greater Will is hiding her to preserve the appearance of order. This could explain why the opening intro only says she "disappeared" - no one knows where she is or why she isn't exerting her will over events during the game. That may also explain why the Greater Will spurned your entering the Erdtree -- the Greater Will never intended to let the Tarnished in, and, as Gideon states, the real order Markia (really, the Greater Will) wants is the eternal struggle, so promising the Tarnished that they could become Elden Lord and the Queen's consort was just a method of exerting control; after all, when Tarnished die, they return to the Erdtree, possibly empowering or feeding it (in the boss room of each underground catacomb, you can see tarnished literally being fused to the roots of what I'm guessing is the Erdtree). We know the Erdtree is basically the physical manifestation of the Greater Will in this world. FromSoftware games tend to have recurring themes, one of which is choosing to either perpetuate or break a cycle of control. The theory that the Greater Will is basically manipulating the Tarnished into providing its essence by killing each other would seem to fit the bill... Interested in others' thoughts on this.

[@heyimanameheyimalastname]

It's not only Tarnished that return to the Erdtree upon death, it's everything. That was the result when Marika removed the Rune of Death from the Elden Ring upon her creation of the Golden Order. You certainly may be right that Marika/Radagon is dead and the story the Fingers give about her being imprisoned for her crime is just a lie, but the fact still remains that she did commit said crime, of shattering the Elden Ring and attempting to subvert the Greater Will, which in all likelihood the whole existence and invitation of the Tarnished is a part of

[@mywifesboyfriend5558]

Spacing.

[@alanprovance9240]

I've saved Melina by accepting the Frenzied Flame, THEN I used Miquellah's needle and did Ranni's ending and the Elden Lord ending. Melina never appeared in the cut scene for either, and given that you don't die if you fall in the forge with the Frenzied Flame maybe she doesn't die either? Anyway, wanted to let you know.

[@hksx528]

Considering gideon is mentioned, in the opening scene, along with the other characters who have their own endings maybe theres another questline where we can figure out what he knows and why he changed his mind and go after the elden beast together or ... something

[@DavidVillaTorre]

I was reading a theory that made a lot of sense, which stated that Marika was also involved in the shattering and that after gaining a deeper understanding of the greater will she decided to betray it. The black knifes having a close tie to Marika and the dialogue from melina stating that Marika was the one that decided to remove Godfrey's connection with the greater will are two of the things I can remember being used as evidence

[@kovykv5456]

She was the shattering dawg

[@Chopper153]

Of course! The tarnished were banished for this reason only, that they'd come back stronger, defeat the vassal (Elden Beast) and start a new age without the slavery of GW.

[@OldMateJohn]

Something that seems to be quite common in the series is the idea of gods/lords/etc trying to force an unnatural extension of immortality or force their own power to be the only one that rules. Our characters always have a choice to return life to a natural order or help usher in a new age which is what makes me think of those options as the “good” endings across the series

[@joshuakim5240]

It's recurring theme in Souls game that gods are much more similar to humans than they want to admit, down to sharing the same ambitions and fears.

[@Cano22499]

All Soulsborne games ask the question: What are you willing to do, endure, take or give for immortality? Be it the Cenitpede monks in Sekiro who may not be dead but eaten alive. Gwyn who cursed the lands. Marika who took out the rune of death. They are sacrificing everything for immortality but what they gain is not life but rather a state of not being dead. Quite ironic, like wishing for eternal life from a Genie but he turns you into a soulless, mindless being that is tormented through eternity.

[@alastor1052]

@@joshuakim5240 And then there's bloodborne where everything is an eldritch fever dream and we can barely distinguish dream from reality and our feeble existance is puppeteered by unfathomable gods that act so deep beyond our mind's ability to understand that it would drive to madness all who learn but a fraction of the truth, yet we desperately stumble forward anyway in our lowly, blind fashion. Leading us into beasthood and madness c:

[@trueomen5017]

24:00 Except she doesn't "hold him" she is slowly eating away at his remains, saying that she wants to join his family now.

[@Rakshael]

yeah i killed her after that. Woman, did you not see your man was a freaking snake god, how is that not clearly evil

[@Nat_the_Chicken]

Ranni doesn't actually place Marika's head back onto her body, she just holds it up in front and says some words, and I think this is actually the one ending where the Elden Ring is _not_ repaired. All the others are activated by walking up to Marika and choosing to "mend the ring" in some way (or destroy it altogether in Frenzied Flame), but Ranni's is activated by a summon sign on the ground, implying you've completely refused to interact with the original object of your quest. Also, Ranni seems to believe that the land shouldn't have a ruler and the people should make their own way, so I think she's sort of becoming a "placeholder" ruler and then abandoning the land and going off to explore the cosmos instead. I don't agree with what you said about the Duskborn ending, either. Replacing the Rune of Death into the Elden Ring would imply that things would go back to normal with people staying dead, but Fia never wanted that, she was actually allied with Those Who Live in Death, some sort of half-resurrected zombie people related to Godwyn. So I think the Cursemark of Death replaces the current policy of "being revived by grace" with that sort of half-death state which is now socially accepted, maybe a little like being a Hollow in Dark Souls. My guess about the additional ending is that you can't get it because Miquella's Great Rune is unobtainable. There is no way to fully restore the Elden Ring, a system of external control that was flawed from the start, so you either have to live with the fracture, or unite it with some new rune that will determine how people live.

[@googlemademedoit806]

I think the idea with the egg is that people think Ranni died and Rennala is trying to rebirth Ranni. I also think that the reason this fails is because Ranni is not truly dead and her spirit lives on so all the girls are actually failed mindless Ranni clones. Ranni intervenes because she loves her mother and even shows us what Rennala was like in her prime. I also believe that Ranni's reason for her quest is personally motivated as some vengeance against Marika for causing Rennala's state as well. This is something that strikes me as very GRRM as even in Goldmask's quest his conclusion is the Golden Order is currently flawed because gods themselves are as fickle as man. This is why he creates the Golden Order Totality and Perfect Order mending rune. I believe this creates a Golden Order where the gods themselves are bound to its will so that their fickleness can't put it at risk any longer. I believe the fickleness of the gods is important. I think everyone thinks Ranni is dead. Im leaning this way because they mention Godwyn is the first of the demigods to die and yet none of them except him are dead that we know of which only leaves Ranni. Although Gideon does state that Ranni gave up her Great Rune implying he knows shes alive but this is confusing because I don't know if she had any to begin with unless he discovered that she in fact stole the rune of death and "gave up" means her body dying and leaving it.

[@v3nom11065]

Its my understanding that Ranni IS dead. She uses dolls to communicate with others, but her soul has no flesh.

[@Count.Saruman]

Ranni is not dead. She killed her Empyrean flesh to remove her bindings to any outer gods, because she wants to claim all possible power for herself. She's the cause of the shattering and has been essentially playing everybody like a fiddle- even you, if you allow it.

[@googlemademedoit806]

@@Count.Saruman No I'm saying people THINK shes dead because her dead body. I even state her spirit is alive and only her body is dead.

[@Count.Saruman]

@@googlemademedoit806 If you'd read my comment, you'd see that I agree with you. Your conclusion is correct.

[@KiazaKadaj]

Yeah but don’t NPCs state that she is alive and to be searched for and then later that she seemed to have given up her Great Rune or whatever

[@JBlackMage2]

Tanith is actually eating Rykard. You can hear her feasting on him and she mentions his body is large and not "...so easily consumed." Edit: I also agree that we fight Godfrey's remembrance as his axe is still fully formed. His axe was broken leading the Tarnished during the Long March. Another point for how the Great Will views everyone, even the Gods, as tools is that it turned Radagon into the sword that it used.

[@azrieldalusong5042]

I swear that womanl is the biggest simp in this game.

[@benjaminmwakonya1519]

@@azrieldalusong5042 who? Tanith? Yes. She is.😅😅

[@rensmasteredarchives6796]

His axe is broken. Look at it more. It's supposed to be a double bladed axe, but one quarter is missing, as half of one of the blades is broken. It, however, kinda ended up looking like a single bladed axe with added weight on the back for balance, so it's still usable. That's the actual Godfrey. Even if he died, the opening cinematic states that he comes back to life and is pulled towards the Lands Between again because his exiled made him a Tarnished. In fact, Godfrey is the name he took upon becoming Elden Lord. He was born as Horah Loux, and took that name again twice; when exiled the first time and when he fights you in his second phase for the second time.

[@Count.Saruman]

It's even worse. The Greater Will's vassal, the Elden Beast, turned Radagon into a sword. There's a clesr hierarchy and the Greater Will leaves those higher in its favour to do as they please with the lower ones.

[@guitarxgaming64]

That's right! I was hoping someone in the comments mentioned this and I wonder what it means tbh. If Tanith is eating Rykard/Serpent like the Serpent ate Rykard does this mean she'll become a new being consisting of all three of them? I finished the game and went back there but nothing seemed to have happened. I wonder if fromsoft left this open ended for a potential DLC in the future? Like imagine Serpent Tanith becoming super OP, yoinking the elden ring and slither away to a new part of the lands between where we have to hunt her down in order to stop her or something? Seems like a proper job for an Elden Lord. Maybe a bit too straight forward coming from fromsoft but you never know

[@snickersnaps8949]

I think a big part of what's left out of this analysis so far is the inaction and indecisiveness of the Greater Will, Two Fingers, and Golden Order plus the imperfection - and reluctance - of Marika. The reason that the Dragonlord wasn't an Elden Lord is just about his employer - other Outer Gods ruled the lands between or at least parts of the land between at different times, and each seemed to have a symbol (Erdtree), a vessel (Marika), and a Lord (Godfrey/Radagon). Placidusax was simply the Lord of a different God. The lore also hints at the Eternal Cities and the sorcerers worshipping Ranni's Moon God, the giants having a god of their own, and a primordial chaotic creation force known as the crucible (that Godfrey continued to worship, and used as the symbology of all his knights). There have been other systems of rule before, and the Golden Order succeeded through Might, as Rykard concluded. Meanwhile the Greater Will shows a lot of fickleness and frankly dishonor in how it treats its subjects. It represents Order, not Justice. Those (Except Godfrey) who worship the crucible become the demi-humans, who are treated as deserving slaves. Some are just born being shunned by the Erdtree (Omens), and are fair game to be killed (unless they're Royal, in which case they're hidden away in shame). Grace can be withdrawn at any time from any person for any reason, which results in exile without any other questions asked. Some of Godfrey's armor makes it clear that the Greater Will betrayed him - he was good enough to do their dirty work, but not good enough to enjoy the rewards for it, and once he wasn't needed any more, he was cast aside from even his position as Elden Lord, despite having gone out of his way to please the Greater Will by limiting his battle rage with Serosh. The Greater Will also flipflops on the Tarnished generally, wakes many Tarnished who want to destroy it, tasks you with jobs you can't do without sin, and abandons you for 10,000 years to think while suffering continues. Other items tell us that it was flawed from basically the beginning, and that the golden age of the Erdtree was fairly short before the sap and grace dried up. Marika and Radagon, whether two halves of the same person or fused later, are also shown to be unhappy in their positions. Not only do they lie about who they are and hide Omens in their family, the Soreseal objects talk about the heavy burdens they feel in their positions. It's my opinion that Radagon was a deliberate result of Marika attempting to gain some freedom - why else would she hide her other half as "a lowly champion"? He was allowed to fight on the battlefield, study heretical sorceries outside the Golden Order, marry for love (he kept the wedding sword and simply modified it for his later position), and it seems generally do what he pleased, until Godfrey was exiled. It doesn't seem like he was really excited to be back in the capital, either. Meanwhile, Marika is described almost universally by those who've actually met her or understood her as terrifying and scary - the stuff of nightmares and vengeance, who would destroy the order of the world out of grief and - I believe - a bid to free herself from her immortal nightmare, before cursing everyone else to an eternity of struggle. In Ranni's dialogue, she also makes it clear that the Greater Will WAS actively seeking to replace Marika - 3 separate instances of the Two Fingers had each chosen Malenia, Miquella, and Ranni as potential candidates for that job. Ranni makes it clear that she refuses because she doesn't want "to be controlled by that THING", again reinforcing that Marika's job sucks. But as with most things, the Greater Will flipflops. Even Enia, speaking for the Fingers, tells us that although Marika has committed unforgivable sins and isn't trusted by the Fingers/Greater Will and they've basically given up on her, they are perfectly happy having her continue her job as a prisoner/slave. In addition to not being able to agree on just one candidate, all three Empyreans are ready and willing to betray the Golden Order. Both Miquella and Malenia also appear to have been plotting to replace/cast aside The Greater Will, by creating the Haligtree as a replacement for the Erdtree and serving an Outer God of Rot, respectively. This all makes Ranni's desire to "Rid the world of all that came before" make a lot of sense. All the other endings - with the exception of the Frenzied Flame, which seeks to indiscriminately destroy - rely on repairing Marika and continuing to use her enslaved husk and the crumbling, flawed foundation of the Golden Order to keep the world spinning on, but at significant cost. I respect her attempt at a total redesign and a proper clean slate, as well as the insane lengths and self-sacrifice she's willing to put behind it.

[@zacthompson784]

It seems like the Erd tree or more specifically the greater will is a parasite. Similar to fungi. I think Radagon wasn’t human but linked to the greater will as some manifestation. My interest is with godywn and the alien at the bottom of stormveil.

[@aizoid4735]

@@zacthompson784 what alien?

[@azatheeverchosen7615]

What exactly has Ranni sacrificed, personally? To me, she came off as blatant schemer and dutiful daughter to Rennala, a woman scorned. To me, the Age of Stars ending is much closer to helping an abandoned woman and her offspring enact petty vengeance against a deadbeat dad who ran off and install themselves as the regents of the Lands Between instead.

[@XYZsolution]

Really nice comment. So just like Dark souls Dark Lord Ending, The Frenzied Fire Ending might be a good ending based on your viewpoint. To serve or disobey?

[@camilocastillo5377]

@@zacthompson784 you literally missed the explanation of the alien lol... that's godwyn after he ded

[@axiicrow613]

At this point, I've watched quite a fair handful of lore videos on Elden Ring, but this one is my favorite so far, hands down. Everything is told in a logical sequence and it is clearly stated every time you enter into theory, and never were your conclusions too far-reaching or speculative. Anyway, thanks for the great upload and excellent work 👌

[@wampXs]

I went through the frenzied flame route and later reverted it with the needle to get the age of the stars ending, thus meaning Melina wasn't dead, but there was no discernible difference to the ending. Unless there are more steps to get an even more convoluted finale that no one knows yet involving this plot thread, it's likely this route doesn't lead to anything new

[@East_Referees_Vs_West]

Damn that was my theory

[@maxmcmahon5609]

I can vouch I also in my play through did the age of stars ending while never having Melina killed and nothing changed

[@EthanG298]

I think Melina and Ranni is the same person this is why nothing changes. Rather than being two separate individuals

[@Jame-zz4tu]

Maybe we need to wait for DLC for more ending

[@kassaken6521]

@@EthanG298 I also believe this, what if Melina is Ranni's bodily form?

[@hwb929299]

I did ages of stars ending with Melina alive. I didn't find her at the end and didn't see Ranni and Melina have any connections. The ending is just the same, unlike the frenzy flame ending. Here is how you get to that ending: accept frenzy flame from 3 fingers... Melina leaves and the player burns the Erdtree... finish Malenia questline to get Miquiella's needle and use it the suppress the frenzy flame... they the ages if stars ending.

[@srmelancia3523]

Its what i did lmao

[@yegor2]

Yeah I think the eye opening is less because a tie to Ranni, but because the eye that opens has the symbol of the three fingers literally marked over it. I don't have a lot of details on it, but I think it suggests that she used to want an age of frenzy and worked with the three fingers. She clearly changed her mind since then, but it probably has some control over her body. I mean it can scar you and fill you with the frenzy flame, so Melina probably did something similar.

[@hwb929299]

​@@yegor2 Actually she didn't change her mind, she doesn't want frenzy flame burn down everything. You can talk to her at the site of the grace before the three fingers gate. She says something like frenzy flame is bad, life is good. But I do agree with the possibility she could work with the three fingers. Blaidd is with 2 fingers but has his own plan, so fingers' servant can have own mind. And Blaidd's betrayal brings him madness and death, so I guess that's the reason why Melina is willing to die to burn the tree. However, there are things about herself that still can't be explained: her mother is in the Erdertree, she was burned and bodyless. I actually incline that she has ties with Queen Marika because "her mother is in the Erdertree" and she gives you many Marika's quotes. The three fingers symbol could be a disguise or a mark of guilt or misfortune. The four-toed fowl foot item tells you "In the Lands Between, having three digits is seen as a bad omen". Maybe that's the reason she was burnt to death. And just like Ranni and Godwyn, she only half dies due to the ties with Marika/Radagon. It's just guessing anyway. I also see other theories. I know people digging Nepheli's lore, it may give us some clues.

[@hwb929299]

@@yegor2 And one more thing, from the final fight, Radagon doesn't have his left face and eye. Melina in the ending has her left eye, but her right eye fades. That may be not a coincidence.

[@datzfatz2368]

@@hwb929299 maybe Melina is somehow Marikas Spirit reborn or something?^^

[@WivoRN]

Such an amazing work you put in this video man! Cleared out a lot of misunderstandings, we appreciate it and can't wait for more.

[@Azubjourni]

There is a good video on youtube you should watch it! Have a nice day

[@RatBoyTriple6ix]

@@Azubjourni lmao what is the video?

[@Azubjourni]

@@RatBoyTriple6ix I wrote it as a troll comment to confuse people😂😂😂

[@RatBoyTriple6ix]

@@Azubjourni lol I was so confused at first… I was like ok there’s lots of good videos on KZbin, which is it?😂😂

[@zippo7422]

Just watch some more fresh videos later becouse he is wrong on a lots of part's, and i know this from item description . So yeah , but overall the base story is right.

[@VadeInSpiritu]

Great summary! I heard horah Loux was considered too uncivilized to be elden lord so took the guise of Godfrey, not that Godfrey became horah loux. Also that dung eater’s curse is the omen curse. He wanted everyone to be omens.

[@Nat_the_Chicken]

I assumed that Hoarah Loux was chosen as the strongest of the existing Tarnished to become Elden Lord, and that he'd been "transformed" into the much more civilized Godfrey. But since Tarnished didn't actually exist at the time, it makes more sense that his badlands warrior phase was after he lost his Grace and was expelled from the land.

[@DatsRandom]

The weird things about the Greater Will giving Grace to the Tarnished is that in the intro, the Narrator (who I believed to be Radagon), says that because of the war of the demigods the Greater Will abandoned the lands. My theory is that Radagon is the being giving Tarnished Ones “the guidance”. We also fight his possessed corpse by the Greater Will, then fight the Elden Beast who is a manifestation of it, who now want nothing to do with the Land Between after Marika failed it.

[@Gingy]

This is a really good theory and definitely covers up a few holes in the story. I really do hope these questions get definitive answers at some point.

[@lunarnightcore8416]

@@Gingy wait so in the default ending does radagon and the elden beast dies, and the tarnished rebuilds queen merika? So in the ending does merika lives or does does she stay the way she is, broken and imprisoned?

[@seth0417]

So one thing that stood out to me was what you said about Hoarah Loux. I'm fairly certain that the Lion was a limiter on his power and that he finally just lets go and goes bonkers instead of actually gaining power by absorbing the lion or something like that.

[@klenstdp1737]

The lion calmed him so that he could be a good lord instead of just a warrior before he got the lion he was horah loux

[@yankeespanky6570]

I’ve done it with Melina still alive and nothing changed. I figured since I lit the flame for kindling after getting the frenzied flame that it would save Melina but after I cured myself of the frenzied flame with the needle I summoned Ranni and it was just the normal stars ending with Melina no where in sight.

[@Qneetsa]

Did you get to keep the Frenzied flame seal item doing it this way or was it removed from the inventory?

[@yankeespanky6570]

@@Qneetsa you keep it even if you cure yourself

[@jackmcgee8008]

Dude this is a masterpiece on how to make a deep analysis but also -somehow- get straight to the point (sort of 😜). No unnecessary fluff, nothing missing either. Also very entertaining. Hats off my man, love the way you think 👌

[@adewan]

30:20 I'm pretty sure Godfreys original name WAS Hoarax Loux, he didn't adopt it. He was one of the greatest HUMAN warriors from the Badlands and led the war against Giants. He actually adopted the name Godfrey only after he married Marika.

[@jeffbezos3200]

Fuck Radahn so hard. He made me almost rage quit. That being said, beating Radahn is what reminded me that Elden Ring is a From Software game. The rest of the bosses encouraged us to go elsewhere to level up. Radahn was a challenge to stand up and get dicked down. In my opinion, this game has 2 halves. If you pursue it naturally, you’ll have a normal leveling experience, bosses will be challenged but you won’t ever doubt yourself. You’ll enjoy exploration and fell ready for anything. I can’t speak for everyone, but that shift hit me like a truck. I said “I’ll do Ranni’s quest since I want to bang her” (I’ll die on that hill). I did it and came to a standstill where we needed to find an alternate route into Nokrom. The only thing standing in the way was a general named Radahn. I heard we could summon during his fight, so. I wasn’t worried. Even with my best weapon and 5-7 summons, I wasn’t good enough. He beat my ass over and over and over again. People are gonna complain about him getting nerfed, but I love it, because the next time we meet will be when I’m getting revenge for his crimes against humanity. The point is, I lost days to Radahn. I lost hope, the only thing I wanted was to quit the game, but I never wanted to quit a Dark Souls game that far in ever again, the way I quit Bloodborne at Castle Cainhurst, or Dark Souls 3 after Wolnir. I beat both of those games in 2021. I beat Dark Souls 1 in 2019. I bought them both at launch, the way I bought Elden Ring. My initial goal was to go inside the tree cause it glowed. I fought for it for 60 hours till I beat Morgott. I was ready to cry when I beat him and thought I could go inside, until I saw the thorns. With Radahn under my belt, I was too far in to be willing to give up, but with the realization that going into the tree was the final boss…I went insane. The game was no longer about silly things like saving the world, reuniting the ring, or even just seeing the ending. It became an obsession. The game jerked me around and taunted me with a giant glowing tree that I couldn’t go into and then handed me the hardest bosses I’d ever fought in my life…I swore to get the platinum trophy. I type this to you tonight, because all I have to do is beat Radagan to get the platinum trophy…but I am enraged. The game stopped being fun for me when I entered the lift of Rold. I might’ve spelt it wrong and that shows you how little thought I gave it, unlike the lift of Dectus that held me from the erdtree more than anything else. I will beat this game and get the platinum trophy, not because I love the game, but because of the suffering it inflicted upon me. Between Radahn and Malenia, this game has taught me hatred. The worst part is that they’re completely optional, yet I decided I had to get the platinum trophy while killing Radahn cause I needed to make the game my bitch in order to tell people I thought it was the weakest From Software game I’ve played. What I’m getting at is that this game made me appreciate Dark Souls 2, and that’s Dark Souls 2. This is a fantastic game, one of the best out there, but it is not the best, even in its genre. Bloodborne’s aesthetic will always be my favorite, while Dark Souls will always be the game with the Firelink Shrine in the middle of everything. Dark Souls 3 has the best Souls combat while Bloodborne feels the best to play. Sekiro is fun to the purists and the people that only play Dark Souls games for the challenge so people can really give that one to you. I quit it before killing the first boss. I’m going to sleep, now. I want Carla. to tell yeah, you’re a good kid

[@madMILL3R]

This is pretty obviously true and the fact that Nepheli is clearly his daughter kindof solidifies it.

[@SirBlackjack010]

@@jeffbezos3200 Jesus get help, you have a problem. Any challenge in this game can be easily beaten by summoning other people (that's how I beat Malenia). Don't tie your selfworth to a game. The platinum trophy is also easier gotten with summons, and it doesn't care if you did it.

[@kingconan9271]

@@jeffbezos3200 what 0 pooh see does to you

[@memegito_1]

@@jeffbezos3200 if you quit because of Wolnir…maybe FromSoft games are not for you.

[@crimsoncrowned8007]

Elden ring is amazing, delving further into the lore I never realized how similar to bloodborne it is. A bunch of unseen cosmic gods using the world in game as their chessboard, each pushing for their own agenda and goals. Part of the reason I stand by my choice of the frenzy lord ending being the only right one, the only ending to put an end to this cosmic puppet show by burning the stage and the props beyond use.

[@martimgraca1514]

Freenzie flame is Also a cosmic God grace like the eertree is grace of the golden order , even the Moon that ranni and rennalla is star God grace that have is One agenda you ONLY changed to a diferent puppet master

[@googlemademedoit806]

Although one thing is Bloodborne's cosmic beings felt more lovecraftian and evil. These are different. For example The Greater Will is puzzling to me because as an entity its effects seem generally positive. Grace, the Erdtree, the general state of things before the Shattering. Everything that happened badly mostly occurred because of either 1) Marika or the demigods or 2) one of the other outer gods who seem much more overtly evil. Most of the instances where The Greater Will fails in some way seems unintentional not malicious. Of course we don't know why Godfrey was banished or why the Tarnished were Tarnished to begin with. And we know that the Giants are genocided to protect the Erdtree and that Liurnia was facing invasion as well but was able to be quelled with Marriage. War against dragons for control. But we don't know if that is Marika acting of her own to secure her throne or specifically directed by The Greater Will. Hard to say.

[@uriel7395]

Elden Ring is basically an unofficial story set in The Eternal Champion multiverse. Like how Bloodborne is basically the Cthulhu mythos. I haven't gotten too far into the lore for this game, so I'm not too sure on specifics for the Greater Will and stuff. I know the Elden Beast is a physical manifestation of law, and the frenzied flame is outright called chaos. Knowing that the Greater Will sent the Elden Beast, that either means it's also on the side of law or is this game's version of the Cosmic Balance, making sure that neither side can win the war.

[@claytonthegrubkiller6430]

@@martimgraca1514 well that puppet master flipped the table so no one can play anymore, good enough for me, i got the results i wanted

[@Merthyc]

@Google made me do it This interpretation of the greater will's fallability seems to coincide with Goldmask's conclusion. Not the will itself being flawed, but rather the demigods running the show into the ground. I enjoyed ending my first playthrough by implementing the vision of this half naked, mute hollow. In a world of grand gestures and divine 3d chess, this mute husk certainly T-posed his way into my heart.

[@astorvialaw4980]

Just today, I did the Age of the Stars ending after having used Miquella's Needle. In my playthrough, Melina had not sacrificed herself at the Forge of the Giants. No extra cutscene played out, so either it doesn't exist or I missed something.

[@SharamanONorgannon]

I wonder how do you get to not sacrifice her? Also does the tree still burn if she doesn’t burn it?

[@antonperera8940]

@@SharamanONorgannon you can burn yourself instead if you get the flame of frenzy from the three fingers. Normally this locks you into the frenzied flame ending but you can use miquellas needle to cure yourself and get a different ending like was said above

[@kerosenn7016]

Miquella’s needle was made to stop Malenia’s scarlet rot from eventually killing her, it also had the effect of completely nullifying the adverse effects from a god’s powers (scarlet rot is the result of the birth of Malenia). When the Tarnished inherits the Frenzied Flame they temporarily use the powers of the Frenzied Flame to take in the flame of the giants and burn the Erdtree. This results in an alternate goodbye for the tarnished and Melina. Melina will not appear in any of the endings besides the flame of frenzy ending. As long as the Erdtree is burned before Melina sacrifices herself and after the flame is inherited.

[@MrSkme]

woah i didnt know even know she was supposed to sacrifice herself. im pretty sure i talked to her many times after doing the forge of the giants thing. I got the age of stars ending too but didnt have to use no needle.

[@xxx_jim_the_reaper_xxx]

@@deq9r Whoah

[@Shanemitchelllucas]

I’m no where near finishing elden ring .. but wouldn’t of been able to put the story line together even if I did. I’m glad you made this video, contrary to the idea of spoilers this video actually made my gameplay a lot more fun. Cheers bro!

[@amandaon32]

There’s an item description with the red braid weapon you get from the Fire Giant soul that said they had red hair, but Radagon also hated his red hair. The fact these two info are put together leads me to believe that although Marika cursed the Last survivor to tend to the flames for eternity, they somehow managed to pull a reverse uno that lead to Radagon’s creation. For whatever reasons, Radagon’s true identity was kept a secret, and he became his own person as just another champion for the erdtree. Fast forward a couple of centuries, and Radagon and Marika have their own families and are living their best lives. Or maybe just Radagon, bc Marika’s union with Godfrey has failed to result in any Empyrean children while Radagon somehow managed to have Ranni with Rennala. Maybe Marika was desperate enough for a true heir that she arranged for her ‘divorce’ from Godfrey, and ordered Radagon to become her consort even though he’s just a champion in everyone else’s eyes and a married man to boot. Ultimately Marika’s bid for Empyrean children did work, bc through Radagon she got Melania and Miquella, two whole potential heirs. But something went wrong, maybe because of the incest^2 or potential resentment from Radagon for ruining his life, and Malenia was born with the rot and Miquella was cursed with eternal childhood. For those who subscribe to the ‘Melina is also a demi-god’ theory, she may have been their last try at s suitable heir, but then the rune of death was stolen and things completely went tits up at that point.

[@gyrfalco3995]

It definitely makes sense that Radagon has giant's blood within him. It would explain why he grew so much and why he hated his red hair, which reminded him of his true giant nature. That's why his bloodline is "diluted" as it is said in the game.

[@mog_3825]

Melania's hair goes from blonde to red during her fight as well during the first cutscene

[@ParkerH2020]

Radahn is Radagon’s son as well.

[@InquisitionL6]

The Morgott and Mog are twins but who are they children to if not Marika? Marika wanted heirs but had no Empyrean children, it would be tough to mate Marika with Radagon since they're the same person. I think the Golden Order punished Marika for trying to keep existing after she lived out her purpose like it did when it pushed out Godfrey. All of her heirs are dead ends compared to her heirs as Radagon.

[@italomarcos3955]

@@mog_3825 no

[@rara3538]

Gideon probably "glimpsed" at the fact that Marika wanted the tarnished to slay a god. Because Marika knew that there is a god, proof to that is master Hewg, who says that he was tasked (by Queen Marika) to create a weapon that can slay a god. So even if Marika told Gideon to "suffer forever" and stop any tarnished who'd get too close to becoming elden lord, she knew that 1) Gideon has the knowledge to arm any tarnished with getting closer to the goal 2) Gideon would step in (because "suffer forever" is her will) in case a tarnished got too close, which means Marika orchestrated this whole thing to prepare a tarnished to slay a god. probably, maybe, the fact is that Marika knew 100% that there is a god, and she wanted that god dead

[@int3r4ct]

In regards to the Marika/Radagon thing, I believe they were a single entity before they were separated. Not really clear why they were separated, but I believe they are very much like a yin/yang type deal, hence why their motivations seem to be opposites in regards to things like the Shattering. They’re just two halves of the same entity. However, there’s some parallels to an old alchemy myth of the “White Queen and Red King” (Marika has white hair, Radagon has red hair and the two were considered polar opposites) and in that the two are fused together, making it kind of unclear if they were one and separated, or if they were two and fused. And if this part of the story was written by GRRM, it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to think that he borrowed from old Middle Ages mythology since he seems to be into old literature. This is why I love Souls lore though, because you’re always given enough to generate a general idea of what might be happening, but a lot is left up to interpretation and imagination.

[@genuinejustin6269]

Radagon and Marika are two entities that inhabit the same body. However I wish they explained why or how it happened. You can clearly see this is the case when you enter the final fight against Radagon. When the camera does a close up of the body hanging on the ring you can distinctly see it's a female with blonde hair made more apparent by the breasts and curvy figure. When they drop to the ground their hair turns red and the body changes into a muscular male physique completely losing the breasts and curvy figure.

[@skullies3580]

I thought marika tried to reject her faith for the greater will so she splits the part of her that is faithful to the greater will and created radagon. That's why when she shattered the ring, radagon tried to repair it.

[@matteofranchetti6000]

I don't know. You're saying Marika has white hair but I don't agree. She has blonde hair, not white, and I don't think the two things are interchangable. My guess is that in Norse mithology, like a lot of others Mithology, there is this cycle that always repeat itself. But in Norse mithology, when the world ends (Ragnarok), the old gods die and their offspring take their name. Also Odin, king of Gods, was master of disguise, and I think Marika parallel Odin as ruler of the Gods. I don't know which of the two ideas fits better the purpose, but I guess Marika shattered the Ring for some kind of reason. This was like some world's end, a new age was coming and it wasnt like she expected so she disappeared and came back as Radagon to not make anyone suspicious on her intentions.

[@dylanbecker9537]

@@skullies3580 I like this idea

[@christianruvalcaba7273]

@@dylanbecker9537 You should. it's the truth.

[@conormurdoch904]

Tannith isn't holding Rykard when you see them in the boss arena after his fight. She's eating him to absorb his power

[@bigmackstar1]

She's trying to get him to "take root" inside of her so he can be reborn.

[@EagledogGaming]

I completed the Age of Stars ending without Melina sacrificing herself, (used Miquella's needle after beating Elden Beast but before finishing the game) and there was no difference in the ending.

[@redcrewmate927]

Sooo? Two women's are sharing you? Or what? Come on man! Wanna know if both of them will make you their spouse!

[@matthewmarshall6299]

@@redcrewmate927 this man needs some post nut clarity lmfao

[@pontipsulibup]

@@redcrewmate927 touch grass

[@yt_commenter]

@@pontipsulibup touch grace*

[@tarantulamadness6191]

@@yt_commenter HAHA noice

[@connermckinnon5520]

FINALLY a video about the story thats over 8 mins long. Thank you for making this

[@Mephil]

I don't think Maliketh is trying to regain his power, I think he is consuming deathroot in order to fulfill Marika's will of removing death from the world. He constantly laments that it isn't enough, and in the end, he asks Marika if "things will never be the same again" and that he "has done all he could for the world".

[@kaidenrisser5905]

I think the way to become Empyrean is selection by the two fingers. Miquella and Malenia are of one god, so the two fingers chose them, but the story seems to suggest that Ranni was the best choice to replace Marika, so she was made Empyrean anyway. This is sort of like a bastard chosen for a throne over the bloodline because the bastard is deemed a better king, even though the true born siblings are still candidates.

[@distantraveller9876]

No, Ranni was chosen as an Empyrean but unlike Marika/Radagon and their twin children, Ranni was chosen as an Empyrean by another Outer God, not by the Two Fingers and the Greater Will. This is why Ranni slaughtered her own Two Fingers, who we see cut up and mangled into pieces, probably as a result of Ranni slashing them to bits with a blade imbued with one of the stolen fragments of the Rune of Death, which Ranni then used on her own body (destroying her physical self) to avoid being captured and imprisoned as a form of punishment by the Greater Will, just as Queen Marika was cruficied to the last fragment of the Elden Ring for eternity and locked away in the Erdtree, as punishment for her own rebellion against the Greater Will's Outer God. Miquella did the same by fusing his physical body into his Haligtree, also in an attempt to release himself from the Greater Will's control.

[@distantraveller9876]

We also know that there were ages and kingdoms long before the arrival of the Elden Star and the Elden Ring to the Lands Between. Dragonlord Placidusax for instance once ruled as Elden Lord but this was long before the age of the Erdtree and Queen Marika's Golden Order. It's very likely that the term "Elden Lord" is just a modern title that was given to the position of "Supreme Ruler of the Lands Between" (someone who has been directly chosen by an Outer God to rule as it's Avatar) but the word "Elden" likely only started being used after the arrival of the Elden Star and the birth of the Erdtree. The Elden Star was a physical manifestation of the Greater Will which is just ONE of many Outer Gods who are all capable of chosing their own Empyreans, like the Three-Fingers and it's God of Frienzed Flame and Ranni's Outer God who chose her as an Empyrean.

[@グウィンドリン-t4x]

A few corrections, Godrick is a child of demigod, so he's like a quarter god the most. Morgott and Mohg are also Godfrey's children as they are all golden lineage which refers to Godfrey's bloodline.

[@グウィンドリン-t4x]

Also my thoughts on greater will. It has been mentioned many times in opening and trailers. The lands between was abandoned by the greater will. That might be why the two fingers in roundtable hold can't reach the greater will. But there are just some unclear things like how the hell we get to temple of the sky by burning the tree and why Maliketh is up there. Hopefully more answers in DLC

[@CNNBlackmailSupport]

@@グウィンドリン-t4x So what are the fingers? Why did they split?

[@グウィンドリン-t4x]

@@CNNBlackmailSupport There are actual no evidence of any split happened, and there are actually multiple two-fingers, but only 1 three fingers in the game. And honestly details are not enough. Miquella's needle might suggest that three fingers came from outer gods but who knows.

[@theYeIIowspark]

@@グウィンドリン-t4x Can't remember who or where but the Frenzied Ones and their items often talk for their Outer God about how something has been taken from them long time ago and must be returned in destruction of all things. The Frenzied Flame seems to hold a grudge against the Greater Will. As the Two Fingers are proxys for the Greater Will, the Three Fingers should act as the same. The only mystery is what happened between the two. The most obvious guess is that the two Outer Gods used to be part a whole, an entity that is somehow represented as a Hand...

[@グウィンドリン-t4x]

@@theYeIIowspark If you can tell me which exact item or spell is that, it would be really helpful. But thanks for the information anyway.

[@jshtng78]

I think the opinion of the 'Age of the Stars' being an age of freedom is a bit misguided. It's trading a supposedly all powerful central being for an infinite succession of star-mages who can take over authority based solely on the strength of their personal sorcery. Rennala's disciples certainly didn't look like they had free will, more like they were enthralled. It's very similar to Bloodborne where the Hunter merely threw off the incumbent tyrant while opening the world to the games of the other Old Ones.

[@itsalwaysdarkestbeforethes1198]

In Bloodborne you ascend to being a great one yourself so there is nothing that indicates that now the world will be run by other great ones anymore then it did before

[@Count.Saruman]

This! I think many people underestimate just how manipulative, ambitious and tyrannical Ranni can be because 'maiden'.

[@solaris4022]

@@Count.Saruman She even murders Godwyn, Godwyn is a nice bloke! Why should I trust a known murderer?

[@excaligaming2435]

Yea, I get the same impression. She acts pretty weird and hostile throughout the game, I am not convinced her vision of a world will be good one throughout, especially because she literally says "a path that stretches through darkness". doesnt sound so comfy to me. She might really just be your next tyrannical usurper.

[@davidwu8420]

I don’t think your interpretation of the Age of Stars as tyrannical is correct, but neither is it an “age of freedom”. Ranni seems to completely remove the Golden Order (Marika/Radagon’s body disappears) and instead embraces the stars. I see it as accepting that the Lands Between are just a small part of the universe rather than trying to dominate the natural order of things. Her mentions of “fear, doubt, and loneliness” suggest that everyone will drift apart due as they forge their own paths in the big universe, but there’s a hopeful note in there too. Even though the stars are so far apart, their light is still visible to each other.

[@Jugsywinkledorf]

A little note on the whole "numen" thing -- it's my working theory that this is a direct and not-so-subtle reference to the Numenoreans from LOTR. It's a lot to write here but the numenoreans were a group of men who fought with the forces of Eru (god) against Morgoth (basically the devil) and were as a result rewarded with very long lives and a large island to themselves. They eventually corrupted over time, however, and became servants of Morgoth; soon after, the island of Numenor was destroyed by Eru in a cataclysmic event to prevent Men from reaching the land of the gods. Very confusing but some of the themes resonate with Elden Ring.

[@russ9843]

Thanks a ton for making this video. I’ve been looking for a simple video explaining the story of Elden Ring without a bunch of over dramatization that I can follow. Thank you

[@Kamgraphica]

This hit my lore craving hard. Excellent breakdown and detailed explaination. Like you said so much more to unpack and there are more endings but man oh man. Incredible game. I’m currently working through Ranni’s ending, on Astel atm but the General Radahn fight was incredible and the Eternal City is trippy! Are there any plans to breakdown the lore of areas of the game like Nokron or what the outer gods are?

[@LightCheck70]

Cause the game does a bad job at it, people need a KZbin video to understand a story of people just spamming L2

[@Probably-Late]

Check out BanditGames lore

[@Kamgraphica]

@@Probably-Late Thanks for the recommendation!

[@nutty7309]

I think the age of stars needs some time but one thing i've set my mind on at least is that I don't think shes the gloamed eyed queen anymore. Maliketh already defeated the gloam eyed queen but rannis body only died at the same time as godwyn, her current body is modelled after the ice witch who was her secret mentor so we dont even know what her eyes looked like really and also all the god slaying flames shanenigans dont fit the profile she gives at all with all that moon/cold shananigans. ...BUT NOW we've got a new contender with a certain "gloam/dusk" eyed look with the melina cutscene in the frenzy ending. She even states that she is burnt and bodiless, does not know what purpose her mother ,who we all know is merika at this point, kept her alive for AND the best part is she states her purpose was long ago lost and we know the dusk eyed queen was an empyrean that maliketh defeated 🥸 EDIT: Almost forgot to add it seems very possible to me that whoever this gloam eyed queen eye used to be, couldve very well been the original owner of the rune of death since the godskin apostles and the black flame incantation were weakened severely as it was embedded into maliketh

[@Rotionpotion]

The problem with your theory on Ranni's ending is that there is actually a god of the Dark moon associated with Ranni's ending, so the world would still be under a higher power, just not one associated with the fingers.

[@LightAndDarkMdness02]

Right. It's just different Outer Gods fighting over the Lands Between. The Greater Wills aren't perfect but better to stick with the devil you know, and being perfectly honest, most of the bullshit was done by Marika and not the Greater Will in the first place.

[@IRedpunk]

@@LightAndDarkMdness02 I said that multiple times, especially when you see your characters kneeling in every Ranni cutscene. But Ranni’s supporters just go mad. And to be fair, the majority just went with it because they “marry” Ranni, nothing else.

[@AntonKlermon]

@@LightAndDarkMdness02 sound like dictators propaganda

[@LightAndDarkMdness02]

@@AntonKlermon Ranni is going to be a dictator too and probably worse.

[@AntonKlermon]

@@LightAndDarkMdness02 how you can tell? She just gave freedom for 1000 years...

[@roarkeven]

I’m surprised nobody has mentioned how in the beginning of the game when it shows the smashing of the Elden ring, you can see how the first frame is Marika, and the second frame is Radagon.

[@roarkeven]

Also, after you defeat Rykard if you use the telescope at the right angle you can see another sword inside of him. Has a totally different hilt, so he’s definitely coming back to get laid out again 😄

[@naka3339]

I think Ranni real name is probably Melina. Miquella, Melania and Melina were the child of Marika/Radagon. Ranni was the only possible candidate to replace Marika due the twins afflictions ( Melania rot and Miquella eternal childhood ) Also one of the few characteristics of Ranni real body is that she had short red hair as Melina. Maybe Ranni/Melina divided as Radagon/Marika or Millicent/Melenia after she decided to kill herself to escape the Two Fingers will.

[@omgroflgamer2010]

hm I doubt it. It is stated all over that Ranni is daughter to Rennala, which is also reflected by her quest chain reward spell of summoning a dark moon compared to Rennala's rememberance spell of summoning a moon. Considering George R.R. Martin partook in the world building, I suggest a different take on Ranni: It's stated in the flavor texts of various items and spells, that Rennala was heartbroken when Radagon left her to unite with Marika. Both respectively were/are queens, but Rennala's line was denied. Ranni, as her daughter, worked actively against the golden line of gods and their plans. When you fight Rennala, Ranni seemingly supports her mother (you hear voicelines from her). And in Ranni's moon summon flavor text it's stated that Rennala showed her the magic of the moon and stars when she was still young. There is definitely a bond there. When Godwyn was killed and was supposed to be the first of the dead, she killed herself (her body) and thus STOLE the rune of death (as she admits to fairly early into her quest chain), and she inhabits her puppet body ever since. The shattering, so the war of the demigods, happened with them assuming death was now a law/rule of this world, added as a rune. So they warred over power to obtain the power of the other respective runes, but as stated, death was foiled by Ranni and thus demigods like Melania and Radhan couldn't effectively kill eachother and it ended in a stalement everywhere. With Ranni's ending we enable her a power grab. We, throughout the game, end the royal golden line by killing them all off to become elden lord, and with Ranni's ending we give HER the power to now shape the rules of the world. With this her family line of moon and stars now is in power and a new era begins, the era of the stars. With this she also effectively enacted revenge upon the golden line that wronged her family by stealing away Radagon and leaving her mother heartbroken. Generally, if you look you can find parallels to Game of Thrones and G.R.R.Martin's work. You have the plotted killing of a royal (Robert Baratheon/Godwyn) that kicks loose a war among the demigods (see noble families of Westeros) for dominance and power. And with Ranni's ending you have the poetic revenge and power grab of the wronged family (compare GoT family Stark).

[@ApexRetard]

@@omgroflgamer2010 goddayum, this was good read

[@LGkojin]

@@omgroflgamer2010 that explain a lot thank you for the detailed post and insight .

[@seanplays16]

@Zinc Deficiency whos merika? Ranni caused the night of the black knives.

[@cristianracovita9748]

Ranni is the daughter of Rennala, and Marika is her foster mother.

[@sweatygoblin2335]

I'm almost positive Marika/Radagon are the same person, and neither were ever actually a person - the Elden Beast turned their body into a weapon, and appears to be Marika/Radagon's 'true body'. Combined with the fact that the Elden Stars spell description says that the Elden Beast was sent by the Greater Will in the first place, that kinda implies the Greater Will is another outer god that decided to directly interfere.

[@cauthrim4298]

Game literally tells you that Radagon and Marika are one and the same btw

[@klauserji]

@@cauthrim4298 but don't always take things too literally

[@cauthrim4298]

@@klauserji Next you gonna say the two fingers aren't a physical thing? That's exactly the situation here, literal message saying "radagon is marika" with his statue turning into one of marika. How much more literal can it be? Sorry for passive aggressiveness, but I found your comment to be completely out of place

[@kouki3409]

@@cauthrim4298 I see where he’s coming from but yeah Cauth you’re right

[@klauserji]

@@cauthrim4298 im not going to argue much here, but with many things that are said within this game are heavily methaporical; the literallness of that sentence made it more suspicious; at least for me.

[@franklynsmith6968]

Quick heads up, at 24:00 (roughly), you mention Tannith is holding Rykard when she's consuming him. That distinction can lead to much different implications, one that we see beings merge when they have love for one another or need for their power (like with Radagon and Marika). Also, is it not interesting that Radagon and Marika naturally oppose one another despite their very beings merged as one? We can see it in the fact that Marika broke the ring and Radagon attempts to repair it using her own hammer. Tannith wants the strength to fight the greater will, Radagon wants the strength to maintain it? Love and power seem inextricably linked in this game's lore.

[@Gijontin]

Pretty clean and simple summarization, cleared up a few puzzles I didn't get to figure out. Good job, dude!

[@crybirb]

Awesome video! I think the only thing I would add is that Houx took Godfrey as a name after he became a consort due to abandoning his old "war hungry" and "savage" ways, for that he took the lion spirit and grafted in himself to keep his hunger for combat away. He kills the lion as a way of removing "his limiters". I think it's his armor, axe or remembrance description. I also did the Age of Stars with Melina alive, nothing changes.

[@CNNBlackmailSupport]

Yep. The Lion is more like a can of red bull and cocaine. "Psssht, ahhhhh, that's the stuff."

[@Niriixa]

Yeah, "Godfrey" was his name he adopted while he was Elden Lord while Hoarah Loux is his initial identity that was restrained by the lion. It's not a new identity he takes on in the second half of his fight, but his *old* identity that he took on again when he was banished and became the first Tarnished.

[@CNNBlackmailSupport]

@@Niriixa I'm wondering if Marika found a way to cheat the system, and that was what caused the problem in the first place. People and their Spirits are shown separated multiple times naturally, but Marika was the only one to split her body and spirit into another being with a body and spirit. She cut the sandwich in half diagonally instead of down the center. The Erd tree contains/distributes the spirits of people, which is why they are that golden color with remembrance. It's almost like the only way to have remembrance is if part of your soul has been broken off or given to the Erd tree to keep, like a jurassic mosquito having dinosaur blood in Jurassic Park. Marika fucked up by giving her split soul a body, a mistake that only she could make.(at that point, at least)

[@pixelverdicts]

Perfect Video! What I feel about the ending is Radagon has taken over Queen Marika as she was no where to be found. Radagon used Marika's hammer to shatter the elden ring i.e. Queen Marika herself who was a vessel. Radagon represented the Golden Order and was working as per the greater will. Queen Marika needed to be saved and therefore we came to save her.

[@elusiveDEVIANT]

Good video, but there are a few things wrong here: 1. Radagon and Marika are the same. Radagon came from her body, that's why He's said to be a champion that came out of nowhere. He studied incantations and sorceries to become whole since he knew he was missing part of himself. He wanted to be whole without her. 2. Tannith was eating rykard so he could be born again inside her. 3. The rune you get from fias quest line is not the elder rings rune of death, its a whole new rune birthed from Goldwyn (prince of death) and fia and our own life energy. This rune allows a place for those who live in death a place in the golden order. When we kill Malikath, we unbind destined death from his body since that is where he locked it away. He also hungers for deathroot because he has the rune of death inside him. 4. The greater will wanted destined death to be apart of the world. The golden order is not the greater wills plan, and it planned to remove Marika presumably with the gloameyed queen or one of her daughters. Ranni got modern entitlement syndrome and decided to use Goldwyn as a sacrifice so she could do what she wanted, despite the consequences. This act put Marika in a rage and she broke the elden ring. Marika and Ranni are the villains of this story. Also, Melina is the gloameyed queen. The original holder of destined death.

[@yuandong3310]

Good corrections. Honestly people who make these videos should be more careful........ too many mistakes

[@jam8337]

Reading and listening to all the lore in the game truly fascinated me, it’s nice to see it all put together in one video!

[@loC2ol]

Quick correction : Godrick is not a direct kid of Godfrey and Marika, he’s most likely descended from Godefroy, who may be one of Godwyns siblings or Most likely he’s even farther down the line and Godefroy is like Godwyns kid or grand kid and then Godrick is Godefroys kid or grandkid. We aren’t exactly sure, but he definitely isn’t a direct child of Godfrey and Marika, they are his some X amount of “Great” grand parents.

[@samikel1159]

THIS OMGG!! And Godfrey and Marika only had 3 kids Godwyn and the twins Morgott and Mogh.

[@AlbertusSalvatierra]

I thought this was the family tree 🤔 So, this is what I’ve got so far: Marika has a half-brother named Maliketh. Marika and Godfrey have three children: Godwyn, Morgott, and Mohg. Rennala and Radagon have three children: Ranni, Rykard, and Radahn. Radagon and Marika have two children: Malenia and Miquella. Godfrey and Unknown have a daughter named Nepheli Loux. Malenia and Unknown have five daughters, one of which we know to be Millicent. The current outliers are Godefroy, Godrick, and Melina.

[@PinkTommie]

yeah , im pretty sure lore-wise Godrick is -not- of golden lineage

[@AlbertusSalvatierra]

@@PinkTommie No, he is. He just isn’t Marika’s child.

[@Umezete]

@@PinkTommie Pretty sure Godrick is directly related to Margit and that is why he defends him when you come for his rune.

[@Umezete]

@@dpc9644 I think it's hundreds of years. Remember most the main actors of the shattering are basically immortal. So actual time means very little to them.

[@sauravsidhant]

I genuinely loved this video, perfect breakdown of the events and the reasons behind it.

[@naka3339]

Another hint that Melina is Ranni: "Me, I'm searching for my purpose given to me by my mother inside the Erdtree long ago, for the reason that I yet live, burned and bodyless." So Melina state she is burned. Ranni body is also burnt when you go get the Death Rune. Somehow they got divided into Ranni/Melina. Ranni got a purpose while Melina is uncertain what she must do.

[@MosS1v]

yeahhhh tqq

[@bioarv111]

Also Melina's hands were clearly burned even before she touches the flame

[@jauharal-rozaq6660]

This could be true. When you meet Ranni for the second time in her rise, Ranni knows our horse name, Torrent, and she glad that the horse is hale and hearty. This indicates that Ranni knows Torrent even before Melina holds the leash. And a little fact, in the entire game, only Ranni & Melina knows the horse's name.

[@claytonthegrubkiller6430]

Maybe Ranni made Melina with a small percentage of her power so she could help the Tarnished and sacrife herself when needed, that's why she says her mother is in the erdtree and that she doesn't know her purpose, she's literally a "drone" created by Ranni

[@Leonhart_93]

@@jauharal-rozaq6660Not that. Ranni introduced herself as Renna at the start of the game and she gives you the wolve's ashes on behalf of the Torrent's former master. You can meet her at the starting church after Melina gives you Torrent.

[@Lufaine01]

Being an Empyrean doesn't require one to be born from a single parent god, simply that one of the parents needs to be a god. Renalla isn't a god in any way so Ranni being Empyrean is no issue. The only confusion is why the other demigods aren't also considered Empyreans

[@KhangNguyen-um4rg]

Probably it’s their potential. You can’t call Radahn, Rykard, Morgott and Smough to be the brightest people on earth but Malenia, Miquella and Ranni’s potential has been either stated or implied to be incredible (Malenia being an undefeated swordman, Miquella is mentioned and the entire Ranni subplot implies that she’s more powerful, cunning and knowledgeable than what we think

[@RyneTurner]

Since Radagon and Malika are the same entity, their children are considered Empyreans. All their off shoots such as Radagon and Rennallas children being considered demi gods. I believe that Radagon and malika had 3 children, Malenia, Mikella and Melina(true form which i believe is the one you see in Frenzy ending). Melina and Ranni being two halves of Melinas true form. One to serve as the kindling to burn down the old and one to rise as the new god to lead.

[@rightguy200000]

@@KhangNguyen-um4rg Idk about that, Radahn was a tactical genius and the strongest of the demigods to the point where Malenia had to resort to infecting him with scarlet rot and fleeing the battlefield. Meanwhile Miquella gets easily kidnapped, raped, and murdered by Mohg.

[@camilocastillo5377]

@@rightguy200000 where does it say mohg does all that? i thought he was protecting her since he wants to be elden lord

[@rightguy200000]

@@camilocastillo5377 Miquella is a he. He's malenia's brother. It says it in his descriptors that he was performing a ritual to resurrect him as a puppet god to be his husband so he could become elden lord.

[@DjamTG12345]

Man what an awesome video, jam packed with all the lore you could ever want! I really like the theory that Melina and Ranni are the same person; Ranni’s body never dying and the mystery of who Melina’s mother is (marika?) makes this theory more viable.

[@erwerewolf]

A year later and the lore and understanding have evolved. We now understand that radagan and marika represented the classical "rebis" (sp.) Of old alchemy. Basically it was an ultimate end state of both chaotic and ordered energies. Marika and radigan were likely joined because of marikas shattering the ring and this preserved the power structure the greater will desires. This also explains the boss after radagan as this alchemical transformation is said to have been achievable through the power of a dragon. Its possible radagan received a vision (or something of the sort) and that is why he went to be elden lord. Alot of elden ring draws from old alchemical legends and ideas. Interesting side bit. You dont have to be born of one god to be emperian...that was just why they were chosen. Ranni was chosen likely because she also had the power and more importantly the WILL to be a god. Not discounting the twins they were both strong as well but dont get it misconstrued that their birth was the only ticket to godhood.

[@tole3590]

very interesting to look at the lore through the lens of alchemy. It was intentionally left vague by the developers so that we can play around with it and speculate.

[@androsh9039]

Vaativydia: *working on Elden Ring lore videos* Gingy: "Fine, I'll do it myself".

[@andrejjelcic3675]

@Gingy After seeing the Frenzied Flame ending I think it is pretty much confirmed that the transparent part of Ranny is Melina. Or that she is the child of Rennala and Radagon. Because If you go Evil route all the runes disappear the Elden power and everything dies. Melina's open eye loses its Golden color and goes blind. Her Rune loses the color as well and she opens the closed Eye to reveal that it's the same as Ranny's opened Eye. Also, Ranny doesn't actually want to usher in the Age of Stars or to marry you or your help with her goals. She comes in gives you the Bell wishes you good luck and is like you probably won't see me ever again. Everything that happens in her questline is basically the PC interfering with her plans because ?love? I guess??? Besides Melina doesn't support other Tarnished. And she tells you she is not a Maiden and is lying. Why would she be hiding from the Fingers if she is working for them? So Ranny and Melina are working together for the betterment of the lands. They are just on separate missions. Plus Milena's scar/rune over her eye looks kinda like a part of centipide like rune of Death. The Rune Ranny stole from Maliketh. When you cast Frenzied flame incantations a rune apears that looks like a burnmark. Ranny's burnmark/rune over her closed eye. Perhaps Ranny used the Rune of death allowing her to split her soul and body(Ranny has four arms because her body is one of the Lucarian pupets) or her soul in two. If Melina is Ranny's body that might allow Melina mastery over flame without the sideffects and shield them both from the Outer gods/Fingers/Greater will. So re-uniting Melina and Ranny into one might be the secret Ending. Like Radagon the Elden Lord tried to unite the Moon magick and Erdtree Incantations. Who is Radagon? Radagon the red-haired as the husband of Rennala of Caria, studied sorcery, and as the husband of Queen Marika, he studied incantations. Thus did the hero aspire to be complete. Also, Miriel Pastor of Vows says "You're Tarnished, aren't you? I welcome you, to the Church of Vows. I am Miriel, steward of this sacred chamber. My apologies, for the unseemly state of affairs. Do you know the origin of this place?""Who can blame you? The SHATTERING has caused us - all of us - to lose sight of something very dear. It is here, at the Church of Vows, that the great houses of the Erdtree and the Moon were joined. And so, our church holds in view the monuments of both houses. The Erdtree of the Capital, and the Academy of Raya Lucaria." "You wish to know more of Lord Radagon? Lord Radagon was a great champion, possessed of flowing red locks. He came to these lands at the head of a great golden host, when he met Lady Rennala in battle. He soon repented his territorial aggressions though and became husband to the Carian Queen. However, when Godfrey, first Elden Lord, was hounded from the Lands Between, Radagon left Rennala to return to the Erdtree Capital, becoming Queen Marika's second husband and King Consort, taking the title...of second Elden Lord. The mystery endures, to this day... As to why Lord Radagon would cast Lady Rennala aside... and moreover...why a mere champion would be chosen for the seat of Elden Lord" This last part is referring I think to the fact that Marika's statue is Radagon's statue. Radagon and Marika are one and the same because once you enter the Erdtree Marika's body turns into Radagon whom you fight and then you fight the Elden Beast only for there to be left just a shell of Marika holding the Elden ring "You know, it's said that Lord Radagon harbored a secret... A famed sculptor of the Erdtree Capital was once summoned to render Lord Radagon's likeness in giant stature. When he glimpsed the skeleton in Radagon's closet. And as such, it's said the great statue harbors his secret too". Maybe Godfrey discovered that she is both Radagon and Marika so he was TARNISHED (tarnished gold) and ousted with all the other Tarnished from the Lands. To preserve the order He/She had to return and assume the title of Elden Lord. Thus Radagon The Golden Order. Leaving Rennala. Godricks betrayal. The deaths of Ranny and Godwyn. The conspiracy, the burden, the secrets... He/She snapped and broke the Elden ring. Also there 3 Talismans: 1. Radagon's Scarseal: This legendary talisman is an eye engraved with an Elden Rune, said to be the seal of King Consort Radagon. These seals represent the lifelong duty of those chosen by the gods. 2. Marika's Scarseal: An eye engraved with an Elden Rune, said to be the seal of Queen Marika. These seals represent the lifelong duty of those chosen by the gods. 3. Radagon's Soreseal: This legendary talisman is an eye engraved with an Elden Rune, said to be the seal of King Consort Radagon. Solemn duty weighs upon the one beholden, not unlike a gnawing curse from which there is no deliverance. All 3 have the same effect: Greatly raises attributes, but also increases damage taken. She/Him literally said fuck the Fingers, fuck everyone I quit and was crucified for it inside the tree. Pretty sure they have the same personality but can change sexes/shape like gods IRL mythology. Why would Radagon fight you if he was not against the ring being repaired? My theory is that the Outer Gods: Fingers, Undeath, Whatever are like the puppet masters, and in an act of defiance him/she broke the Ring (Tried to commit suicide) as big "I had enough. Fuck you." The more I play the more I see the Age of stars as the good ending, Elden Lord as the neutral only because you killed all the mad gods so the people can have a semblance of normality even if they are still prisoners to the Finger's machinations. Being imprisoned inside the Erdtree and crucified was Her/His punishment for rebelling against The greater Will/Fingers. This was what Gideon Ofnir saw. Miquela made the Gold Alloyed Needl which prevents interference from the outer gods meaning her children were aware that the outer gods/Greater Will were up to no good and that they were the true Puppetmasters, who were just using them. The Greater will split into 3 fingers of Chaos and 2 fingers of Order. Not good or evil but Chaos and Order. Order is obsessed with absolute control over all and Chaos desires the end of all as Kaos in Greek originally meant unruly nothinges. They are the puppet masters behind all the events in the game. Long ago they ordered the Erd tree and the Golden order of the Lands between to be made. The 3 Fingers were sealed by the Demigods of the Golden Lineage in a secret place. But that was not enough for them to have all the control - the perfect order. Long before the Rule of Gold and the 2 fingers, each person was given their Fate by the Stars just like according to Astrology and Zodiac IRL. This could not be allowed all had to be under the control of the 2 Fingers. So the Golden order sent Radahn, who alongside Melania is the strongest of all the Demigods, to cut off the Stars from the sky. No sun, no constellations, no fate, no freedom. The 2 Fingers now held full control over the Lands Between and EVERYONE in them. Being an Empyrean means having a single God as a parent. Rennala being a mortal and being one parent and the Radagon/Marika being the other fits this description. Miquealls and Milenia are Cursed because they were born from a single being Marika/Radagon. Millenia literally looks like Marika with Radagons hair kinda like Milicent and her sister who are clones of Millenia. In the Age of stars ending Death and Free will returns to the Lands in Between. In the Age of Duskborn Death is rampant. The age of Fracture is just you becoming the Elden Lord but the Order remains Fractured = no important changes. Age of Despair is probably the worst ending. Frenzied Flame is just the end of everything. The reason why Melina survives here is that she is somehow linked to all kinds of flame magic..

[@hyunwoo0124]

this.

[@juliabozzino288]

This.

[@cloud.strife1686]

This should be pinned omfg

[@royloplays]

I didnt read your wall of text, but this part: "Everything that happens in her questline is basically the PC interfering with her plans because ?love? I guess???" Wrong. If you go through the black knife questline then one of your best buddies in the game, Rogier, asks you to go visit Ranni and help her out.

[@Haltboy]

This would beg the question however, why is Rykard and Radahn not considered empyreans too? Ranni must be related to another outer god before birth, assuming its the 'The God of the Moon' but i have heard maybe ranni is the adopted daughter of Marika/Radagon which would make sense.

[@KH-cs7sj]

2+3=5, which implies that Two Fingers and Three Fingers came from the same hand. The intact hand appears in the game as an enemy. Maybe they are the puppets of the Greater Will and will grow into Two Fingers and Three Fingers to guide the Empyreans.

[@Proloyable]

I really like to know more about the other outer gods and their schemes to invade the lands between. Hopefully dlcs will cover that.

[@onethrustman2152]

I think three endings is related to three different outer gods, The Greater Will/The Dark Moon/The Frenzied Flame.

[@nightknight2]

Great video! Although with Praetor Rykard theres a lot more going on and a few misconceptions. The only main contradiction is that Lady Tanith doesnt like the fact you killed Rykard and how Rykard is semi-dead isnt really immortal. Shes eating him and Consuming him because thats the power of the serpent, whatever it Consumes it gains that power (The weapon and the spell Rykards Rancor). There using that power/making 'champions' in order to power rykard enough to consume everything, where Tanith attempts to keep it going after his death. a lil theory I have though is that unless the serpent dies Rykard actually isnt in control of the situation at all, the serpent dies in phase 1 and rykard awakens. Gelmirs fury + magma shot explain how arrogant it is to control such power

[@ethanheck1023]

I swear you’re the only non British person reviewing this subject, thanks a million!

[@CrustaceanJames1]

I truly saw the Chaos Lord ending as the best option. The golden order had fallen due to internal politics and corruption, had we become the new elden lord or revived Marika, we would have inevitably started the cycle over again. We as tarnished were also never truly meant to be elden lord and are inherently seen as lesser beings. Why would we want to estate that level of oppression once more?

[@pandroop5582]

Also the greater will is not ethically or morally just -- they commanded an industrial level holocaust and committed mass genocide against the nomads people because they held different beliefs to them. Not to mention the oppressive caste system that it perpetuates towards the misbegotten, omens and demi-humans. The greater will is a reprehensible figure that should be fought. The whole reason for the Three Fingers is it was willed into existence from complete despair by the nomads (or the despair was so big it allowed the Three Fingers to capitalise). It's a deity/being/thing that exists purely to see the entire world and its system cleansed and reset by a great fire. If the Two fingers represent order, Three fingers is the complete opposite -- Chaos. The only half decent ending is Ranni's and even that is a shot in the dark and really hopeful for a world that is so bleak.

[@alexandervowles3518]

As Melina says, you cannot be a lord with nothing to rule over. By becoming the lord of chaos, you condemn all of existence into non-existence.

[@D-Ice55]

@@pandroop5582 No Life is suffering things grow and die and cause more suffer so it would be better if nothing gets born or live i the first place to prevent all suffering from happening. This is the most "evil" thing you can come up with and the frenzyd flame ending is the worst of all.

[@hyunwoo0124]

One thing to point out about the 'remembrance of the rot goddess', the Korean translation of it does not have anything about "Empyreans' on it. It simply states that Miquella and Malenia are the children of a single god, and so they were afflicted with a curse. I feel like the wording on the English text is a bit tricky imo. Empyrean could be a child of a god that is anointed by the two finger, instead of 'being born through a single god'.

[@zero1343]

Makes me wonder what the original Japanese text is, wouldn't be the first time things have a different interpretation after translation in these games.

[@MMSR_Reds]

@@zero1343 the Korean and Japanese label for the remembrance are identical. In Korean, it's 부패의 여신의 추억, and in Japanese, it's 腐敗の女神の追憶, which is the exact same down to the letter, just written in Kanji and Hiragana (Korean and Japanese have very similar grammar and use of Chinese characters).

[@davidnnn6986]

Consider the "gods" as representatives of foreign powers outside of the "lands between" and the "kings" as the local administration. A god-king bond would form a colonial government for the foreign power to exploit the resources in the "lands between". This clarifies the mythology. It seems like the entity behind the Elden Tree faction is farming heroes to grow runes in order to feed the Elden beast. (or the beast is just a defense mechanism) I am not sure what other factions do. Stars and moon seem to be sending a specific kind of worm to the "lands between". Maybe those worms need runes to undergo further development.

[@Mr.Stricken]

Finally I’ve found a video that breaks down the lore in detail but not absurdly so. This was my goldilocks find. Thanks a ton.

[@wysteriousmimic1402]

There's a pattern here: [Rennala and Radagon] - Ranni - Radahn - Rykard [Godrick and Marika] - Morgott - Mohg - Godwyn [Marika and Radagon] - Miquella - Malenia - MELINA Melina's story is the most interesting of all.

[@zero1343]

I also wouldn't be surprised if Melina was also Renna. With her and Ranni being twins. Given the two other family branches also have a pair. Would explain Renna's rise, Ranni taking her name and the connection between the two of them relating to Torrent and the bell. But also wouldn't be surprised to see Renna show up separately in some sort of dlc, perhaps being the snow witch who was Ranni's teacher

[@IRUNASSULT]

I understood it as Marika shattered the Elden ring and thus the order of the world. But Radagon sought to repair it but didnt 100% succeed. He basically fused himself with Marika in order to uphold the golden order until a new lord would come to restore it completely.

[@ephemeralenhancement9445]

Yeah but if that were true, why would Radagon try to kill you once you get there

[@AkaiSuisei1776]

@@ephemeralenhancement9445 maybe as a test to see if you are strong enough?

[@IRUNASSULT]

@@ephemeralenhancement9445 just like the Erdtree refused us entry, the greater will doesn’t want us to become Elden Lord, or should I say Marika since that’s what Gideon was yammering about as he tried to stop us from getting to the tree to claim that power. That no tarnished is supposed to become Elden Lord and Marika just wanted us to fight for all eternity or something along those lines