How to Understand Elden Ring Lore

The two major tools for understanding Elden Ring lore are also two of the most important spells present in the game. In this video we will go over the concepts of Causality and Regression, the story telling methods of GRRM, Berserk's influence on Elden Ring, and how to use this knowledge to begin crafting theories that have plausibility within the narrative and lore of the game.
If you liked this video, or enjoyed my methodology for theory crafting, please consider subscribing. There is more content on the way with theories you have probably never seen before!
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0:00 - Intro
2:37 - Causality and Regression in Mathematics
5:08 - George RR Martin
9:03 - Berserk
13:34 - The Spiral Rune. ;)
16:41 - Crafting a Theory (subject to change)
23:00 - Outro
Thumbail Credit to Anthony Bellavia - / graphicprologue / bella.via

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you all for the support and feedback everyone! This video is my first attempt at editing audio and visual, and I promise to provide higher quality content coming soon. My next video on Rennala is a simple theory, backed up by in game evidence, that could have major implications on the lore and timeline. I hope you all stick around for it! Thank you!

[@hyupoi5285]

you are the first person to make me understand the law of casualty and regression, i had hard time understanding it since english is a 2nd second language to me but the you depicted it just makes it clicked for me

[@darkhobo]

An in depth analysis of Elden Ring taught me that Fia is Fortissax. And it also taught me I will never convinve anyone of that fact because the game never spells it out.

[@JackisaMimic]

While I don’t believe it on its face I will say that we do know that the ancient dragons could be become priestesses to commune with humans, yet we don’t see it in game that we know of. We also see multiple instances of characters assuming false identities and names, as well as literal dopplegangers in the form of mimics. Since those elements are present we should have seen at least one character in game be a dragon masquerading as a human priestess, right? I think you are onto something, but I can’t subscribe to it without more investigative work. Thanks for sharing this thought though, I think there is validity to the hypothesis!

[@Rich_P_Anya]

If that isn't true it should have been because thats awesome

[@Luaeria]

@@JackisaMimicWe fight FortIssAx within Fia’s dream. When we come out of the dream, Fia is dead, but we know she can handle herself because we know she killed D. I agree there is no definitive proof that makes this theory 100% solid, but we know Fia is practically a priestess of Death. We know she speaks of Godwyn with tremendous adoration and we know that FortIssAx did, as well.

[@arthurdossantos6826]

​@@Luaeria people need to die to make a mending rune, apparently. Everyone that produces a mending runes passes.

[@JackisaMimic]

I wanted to come back and say that this comment, as well as another users, help me change my opinion on who Godwyn really is. Thanks for leaving something so thought provoking!

[@xhinoteque]

Love your approach to the lore. I think that the Griffith and Moonlight boy situation is very telling of the Radagon and Marika situation.

[@JackisaMimic]

That’s an angle I haven’t considered before, but it’s very possible. I’ve always seen Miquella as having a many Griffith allusions: dreams, the eclipse, his ability to influence people, etc… I will have to pull the thread you mention though and think about it

[@xhinoteque]

I think you should watch angelofthepast elden ring's hidden story. A lot of interesting ideas in his theory and his approach is similar to yours. There's some things that aren't quite right (specially at the end lol) BUT the central idea of his theory is pretty interesting.

[@JackisaMimic]

@@xhinotequeI’ll check it out. Thank you for the recommendation!

[@kristintrainor]

Great video and analysis on Elden Ring. Tying in the influences of George R. R. Martin and Berserk really helped to drive home your points. Thanks for taking a deeper look at the items and storylines throughout the game. It really helped me to get a better understanding. After looking at your channel it looks like this is your first upload. Nice job on editing and production. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to future videos from you!

[@Doom-uz2jt]

Bro mastered esoteric wisdom!

[@christopheranderson4650]

Fantastic work. I’m stoked for what you have down the line. Please keep them coming. And at your own pace of course

[@JackisaMimic]

I appreciate it! You will not be disappointed, I promise you will see theories you have never seen before, backed up with evidence and logic that make them more than plausible.

[@fleetstreet11]

"It's not a loop. It's a spiral!" - Alan Wake

[@Luaeria]

Excellent fresh take! Love this!!!

[@phyllisdixon8709]

Very informative; thanks for posting!

[@scottdixon655]

Very interesting and introspective

[@redheadsilver8041]

Masterfully exposed. I eagerly expect more videos from you (Liked and Subscribed). Also, your exposition of causality/regression also fits nicely with a theory I have concerning this game and it's "maybe" final time travel DLC. Elden Ring timeline is stuck in a paradox between Marika and the Tarnished player, we help her in the past to create the golden order and she helps us in the present by giving us the tools to become Elden Lord. We are a fated tarnished.

[@darknecromancer4046]

Very impressive, hope we get more elden ring lore from you . Subbed.

[@TheBigHatLegion]

Hey, great video!! Keep it up, I can tell you put a lot of effort. You should be proud!!

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the video, stick around and I think my next few videos will entertain you!

[@LilithsVeil]

Great video, loved the breakdown. I think it's so interesting how Berserk has been used as a reference for ER lore in so many videos but everyone is able to find different ways they connect. Just a note, some of the music was a little loud for the voice over. I'm interested to see what else you make. Good job!

[@JackisaMimic]

Thanks for the feedback! This video was a test run learning to edit audio and video, look forward to higher quality content and more straight forward lore videos coming soon!

[@bearsbearsbears1685]

Another cool video. A little disappointed you only have 2 videos at the moment haha. Keep it up.

[@JackisaMimic]

Dont you worry! I will have another video coming up this weekend or soon after, it will be a Q&A style video answering questions and critiques on my Rennala video. Then afterwards the Eclipse video that you will not want to miss! The implications for Shadow of the Erdtree are exciting!

[@danielcruz3083]

Really impressive video homie

[@JackisaMimic]

Thanks man, this was my first attempt at making a video like it, glad you liked it. I hope you have seen improvement in my newer videos!

[@TheCronesEye]

Bravo! 🎉 Great first video. Very interested to learn more of your ideas. Liked & subbed with alerts on! 😊👍

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you very much! You will it not be disappointed!

[@nbmoleminer5051]

Crucible Knight Tree armor, potentially Gransax and Plasidusax's bolts, Siluria's woe have the spiral

[@pabloqp7929]

Bro is cooking! Great gameplay btw

[@rosslumberjackson]

Radagon was also known for having red hair, coincidence? I think not! Great video Jack.

[@angelnoa6327]

I really enjoyed the video a lot. Until the end. I’m not quite sure how the Godwin stuff you brought up was connected to the spiral, causality, and regression. Seemed a bit of the leap. Still a good video!

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the video. In the future I will make a video expanding more on Godwyn’s life and eventual death that will paint the connections more concretely. As mentioned in the video, we only looked at one sliver of one puzzle piece, there is a lot more in game that we would have to look at to validate the claim “Godwyn was an assassination target for X reason.” Hope you stick around and thank you for the critique

[@angelnoa6327]

I Will :)

[@falgalhutkinsmarzcal3962]

According to Teilhard de Chardin, "everything that rises must converge". And there are lots of things converging in ER, from Snakes and Men, Dragons and Men (dragon communion), Tarnished and Tarnished (grafting), sorcerers and glintstone (Lusat and Azur), sorcerers and sorcerers (Graven Mass), fungi and Men, plants and Men (Miranda flowers, Erdtree guardians), lions and Men (Godfrey), corpses with corpses (gargoyles), etc.

[@user-ss4qr3qg9e]

Bro. You've put such a different theory and way of thinking in the air.

[@Rich_P_Anya]

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️🤦

[@cahuek]

One thing that I always thought was interesting is the dialog a ghost speaks at a church in the weeping peninsula. He says that Godwyn is Marika's "unwanted child". That could mean that Marika orchestrated the assassination of Godwyn from the beginning.

[@cahuek]

My theory is that Marika actually wanted a daughter instead of a son. Afterall, only women can be Empyreans and become hosts of the Elden Ring.

[@JackisaMimic]

Pay attention to the dialogue again, the ghost is not so specific to name the soulless demigod by name. Stay tuned for my next video where we dive deeper into this topic on matters of the Eclipse, soulless demigods, and the Night of the Black Knives!

[@cahuek]

@@JackisaMimic Looking forward to it! I just subscribed and I'm loving the content.

[@cahuek]

@@JackisaMimic I assumed it was Godwyn since his soul was killed but not his body during the NOBK. And right next to the church there is a cemetary where some undead enemies appear from the ground, most likely due to the influence of death root.

[@Recoil1808]

I should probably point something out regarding the red lightning. Gold is said to have once been of red coloration, and we see armor and weapons that are still made of this red gold. Further, it's not like the dragons that Godwyn fought against were nerfing themselves and using yellow lightning, yet the same justification was given nonetheless.

[@Ming1975]

I just love the reference from Sword of Berserk. Too bad the creator died before finishing the story.

[@dalewilson2741]

His assistants and close friends are continuing it. They aren't Miura quality, but I'm happy with what we're getting

[@wolandisdead]

Have you considered the fact that GRRM chose to label the assassination plot: “The Night of the Black Knives”? GRRM has commented on the real world historical event known as “The Night of Long Knives” as being an example of a relatively contemporary historical event that serves as a source of inspiration for his writings. With that in mind, and considering that GRRM could have called that plot anything, do you think we can infer anything about the motives of the assassins or the plotters? Specifically, that the assassination was carried out to preemptively remove rivals or challengers who might contest the plotter’s ability to seize power. If so, I wonder what you think that reveals about Ranni, Godwyn, and the other two empyreans who Ranni might have been competing with: miquella and malenia. If the statues of the twins in elphael depict them being embraced protectively by godwyn (and I believe close inspection of the 3d model of the statute suggests that the figure embracing the twins is a male and therefore likely godwyn and not marika) could it be that ranni needed to kill Godwyn as part of her struggle for power against the other two empyreans?

[@JackisaMimic]

If you haven't yet you should watch my Eclipse video that I released last week, it is all about the Night of the Black Knives! Let me know what you think after watching that!

[@wolandisdead]

@@JackisaMimic yes I watched it last night and loved it! Thats why I included that comment about the identity of the statue embracing miquella and malenia in elphael. I know you think Miquella wanted Godwyn dead. I don’t even necessarily disagree. Just curious to know if you think the name choice provides enough basis to infer anything about the plotter’s motives

[@JackisaMimic]

Well thats very hard to say, it isn't the first time that GRRM has used a specific historical event as the basis for a story beat. The Red Wedding is famously based off of the Black Dinner of 1440, but I think we can only look at the broad stokes of these events to inform us and not try to look too deep into them. Especially with GRRMs writing style, he makes things up as he goes and calls it "gardening" lol. Fun fact: The Black Dinner happened at Edinburgh Castle which Miyazaki and team toured and used it as a visual reference when making Castle Stormveil. I visited the castle last year and it was a great castle to pick because it was stormy and rainy lol

[@Poigmothoin]

Good video!!!!!!!!

[@JackisaMimic]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@milenaknezevic4825]

Hi! What if this is one and the same story that is repeated over and over again through a time and space, in order to dismiss the power of the Great Will; a story about reincarnation and trying to get rid of it? Gloom eyed Queen, Marika, Renna (Snow Witch) Melina... are all one and the same person who is trying in every possible way to avoid a repeating fate? (GEQ who never wanted to served to the GW, who was killed and reborn as Marika, Melina, Renna (shattered same way as the ring), Marika's plot, not Ranni's, but with help from Ranni and Miquella to kill Godwyn,..etc.) We can see Marika's 100 literal attempt to fight the influence of Greater Will and defeat ot for good.

[@JackisaMimic]

I don’t think it’s an “if”, I think it definitely is! When the Elden Ring was shattered the Erdtree shook and seeds scattered around the Lands Between, and minor Erdtrees sprouted. Marika shattered, while Radagon repaired. Separately they appear to be in opposition, but together their actions can be summed up in one word: reforging. How many times has this happened before, is this the first time? Our character kills the demigods, gathers their great runes, and repairs the Elden Ring. Are we the first to do so? Did Godfrey do the same, whose main weapon is the enemy of all trees: an axe? Some ramblings for a future video! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I hope you enjoy the rest of my videos and comment more in the future!

[@Eizengoldt]

Elden Ring is econometrics CONFIRMED

[@airiquelmeleroy]

We know from the cursemarks of death lore, that godwyn didn't die a true death, and died in soul only instead, because of a ritual in which ranni killed herself in body only. Thus godwyn' soul died, but body remained. And Ranni's body died, but soul remained. This however, only reveals Ranni's motivation for the ritual, but why she targeted godwyn is still a mystery. Why godwyn? Is a random dude not enough for the ritual to be effective? Did she have to kill a demigod for the ritual, because she was a demigod herself? It's wierd, cause it "solves" the mystery behind why she killed him, but not why she killed *him* specifically...

[@JackisaMimic]

Stay tuned for my next video coming out in the next week or so (hopefully), we will dive into the motivations behind the Night of the Black Knives and maybe come close to the truth of the conspiracy! Maybe the question isn’t“why kill Godwyn” but “why create the Prince of Death”? You won’t want to miss it!

[@jonathanbaker4361]

Wonder if there is a relationship to the gold and red lightning and Radagon and Mirika being gold and red headed.

[@Mawal28]

Great video, very necessary

[@hououinkyouma5539]

Ride the spiral till the end We may just go where no ones been

[@richardhappe3970]

👏👏👏👏👏

[@Tono22957]

Epico

[@dangerpin4162]

I thoroughly enjoyed the video but. Godwyn isn't confirmed to be the child of Marika and Godfrey :( I have looked for confirmation for two years now, it's not there!

[@JackisaMimic]

He is confirmed via multiple items. Godrick’s Great Rune: The first demigods were The Elden Lord Godfrey and his offspring, the golden lineage. Finger Reader Crone: …scion of the golden bough and First Dead of the Demigods. These are two examples of text in game linking golden lineage being direct offspring to Godfrey(and by extension Marika) as well as Godwyn being a scion (royal descendant) of the golden bough (main branch of a tree, in this case it’s a play on words for Erdtree and Family Tree) The cloak that is draped over Godwyn has the same embroidery as the embroidery on Godfrey’s cape. Rogier tells us the Black Knife “happened during the Golden Age of the Erdtree” and since we know that Godwyn is a demigod it means he is a descendant of Marika, whether by birth or marriage, and during the Golden Age of the Erdtree Godfrey was her consort. So while the game is subversive with its text and implications sometimes, this isnt one of those cases, it is clear that Godwyn is part of the Golden Lineage. However, my next video will look into something similar when focusing on Rennala. Why does she grieve?

[@dangerpin4162]

@@JackisaMimic Godrick is also a descendent of Godfrey, another demigod I would point out. In addition, consider that Godwyn was "the first of Marika's demigod children to die that night." That implies that Marika has had MANY children over the aeons. Might it be that ALL the wandering nobles are in fact demigods given life by an Erdtree ritual performed by Marika? Some of her children clearly gained more strength and the demigod shardbearers are clearly the most powerful. It cannot be a mere coincidence that Morgott and Godrick both use a wandering noble model to represent their corpses.

[@JackisaMimic]

@@dangerpin4162 I agree, just because only a few characters are named doesn’t mean that others don’t exist, just means they aren’t relevant to the story at the moment to have names I suspect that Shadow of the Erdtree will introduce more Great Runes for us to use, and Demigods attached to them. Not for any lore reason mind you, just as gameplay additions, and the lore will follow

[@JackisaMimic]

@@dangerpin4162I have been considering what you said, that Godwyn is not explicitly stated to be Godfrey’s son. Based on Godrick’s dialogue to the dragon corpse and Godwyn’s affinity for dragons I have been considering that he may have been a bastard born child, and the Omen twins are the only natural born children of Godfrey. It’s just a hypothesis that I will look into for a future video about Godwyn, but I wanted to thank you for bringing this to my attention. Stay tuned in the next few weeks for the Rennala video!

[@dangerpin4162]

@@JackisaMimic well lmk if you wanna bounce ideas around sir, I'm here for the next video regardless!

[@rancidavocado2166]

I feel like we don't really take into account George reps Martin personally never read anything hes made, so he's a real blind spot.

[@JackisaMimic]

I didn’t go over it in this video but there are many parallels between GRRMs stories and Elden Ring. I may make a video in the future about direct comparisons but if you’re interested you should read about Weirwood Trees(and Weirwood Net) and human sacrifices in ASOIAF, you’ll see the parallels between them and the Erdtree and Erdtree burials very plainly.

[@birdstrikes]

I thought you might say Entropy

[@Rich_P_Anya]

The connections to Berserk are good, and the George RR part was fine, but everything else nah