Lost Souls of the Sage's Cave - Elden Ring Lore - Black Swordsman Saga Part 1 Cut Chapter

Follow the Black Swordsman as he learns the secrets hidden by the Lost Souls of the Sage's Cave. Including those about the Deathbirds, the Destined Death Prophecy, and more!
Then stick around and I will be answering questions from the previous video!
Become a Mimic Scholar for perks like an icon and my thanks!
/ @jackisamimic
Other Videos:
The Eclipse: Miquella's Secret Crime - • Miquella's Secret Crim...
Why Did The Carian Queen Grieve? - • Why Did The Carian Que...
How to Understand Elden Ring Lore - • How to Understand Elde...
0:00 - Lost Souls of the Sage's Cave
11:50 - Outro
12:36 - Question 1
13:19 - Question 2
14:22 - Question 3
17:50 - Question 4
18:45 - Question 5
27:34 - Question 6
33:00 - Question 7
34:20 - Question 8
36:13 - Question 9, 10, and 11
37:31 - Question 12
38:00 - Question 13
40:32 - Question 14 and 15
44:23 - Question 16
49:19 - You know who you are
57:34 - Outro 2
Thumbail Credit to Anthony Bellavia - / graphicprologue / bella.via
Q&A in order of appearance:
@zainroshaan
@Mr.Efffff
@josiahpearson5275
@leondeurquiza80
@Sammysouris
@JimmyRustler96024
@Mainlymundane
@Drahcir361
@Flexistentialist
@twodumbgamers9285
@GothicPrincessAlice
@mentalwig420
@dreadfutures
@s-nooze
@Memnoch_the_Devil
@queertitan
@Luaeria

[@JackisaMimic]

If you would like your comment considered for the next Q&A segment the code phrase is: “big cat” (its so I can find comments easily) I may feature your comment anyway, though :P Hope you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching!

[@MistahPaul]

Hey big cat, I like the vid, but there's a lot more that was missed in the Sage's cave, but it's too much to put into a comment. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5SlZJeZiLCWobcsi=iS9B1PGkt1ORlvu5 & kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3LPeIl5qNaibcksi=jiYDCPctN8tbc_Wy It's a bit of a deep dive, but I went on a similar trip through the sage's cave and I'd appreciate a watch if you get the chance. Thanks!

[@Luaeria]

@@MistahPaul ooooo, I wanna see!! (Is nosy)

[@JackisaMimic]

Oh sick, I'll give this a watch. After I get through them I'll comment some thoughts

[@tyco1649]

One quick additional bit that might interest you is that in the original Japanese, the mending rune of death is more closely translated as a “Stigmata”. I definitely agree that the use of the rune of the death was for the result of Martyrdom and it somehow was messed up. If I had to make a guess, assuming Godwyn truly is the benevolent figure made out to be; then he may have offered himself for this role to restore death to the land? In keeping with the Stigmata and Jesus symbology, he had to die to give death to the people? It may have become clear, at least to those paying attention, that the lack of death was a flaw a in the land and thus they attempted to restore it. Again my only guess is perhaps the rune needed to be “charged” again after so long being “confined” (the words the game uses to describe Marika’s actions) or that it needs someone to wield it as all runes we see and obviously embodying the rune of death might not feel very good. Lastly I want to make a quick comment on Trina’s third eye symbology. There is a popular theory that rather being a literal third eye, it might be a stylistic representation of only possessing a singular eye, such as Messmer, Melina, Mohg, Marika and Radagon themselves are missing an eye, etc. Obviously this is very interesting and has a lot of strong implications, if Trina has a sealed or missing eye instead. Another connection is that the ONLY 3 eyed enemy we face in the game are the cemetery shades, those creepy shadow people with spiders on their head. When the spider tears back for certain rare attacks, it has an eye which glows bright too, creating a third forehead eye. These creatures are almost directly the same substance as the strange creature in the shadow the Erdtree dlc; the one seemingly riding a half melted skeletal horse and throws some large bone/boomerang. More specifically that figure IS the horse being remolded into the humanoid figure riding it, it’s missing back half is what’s comprising the new rider. Whatever these creatures are, they seem to be spirits or ghosts of some kind and possess a lot of similarities. My theory is that the “spider” we see might be the literal manifestation of Miquella’s power to compel power. If you’ve played or know Lords of the Fallen imagine the same as umbral, things unseen on a different plane. To everyone else Miquella is seemingly just appealing but perhaps the sinister undertones of his nature is that he’s parasitic to people’s very souls. Connections there to be made through him interacting with sleep, sleep being a half step away from death. Things to consider.

[@arglebargle42]

Personally I love your dramatic characterization and using the Black Swordsman's perspective to make the theme interesting. There are tons of lore channels out there nowadays and this feature makes yours stand out in the crowd. Great narration and enjoyable writing, thank you for your work!

[@JackisaMimic]

The goal of using a character is to give us an actor on the stage, someone who is our window into the world. It allows us to have a perspective that is from inside the world of Elden Ring, at least I try my best to make it the case. It also means it's not me who is wrong, it's the Black Swordsman ;) Happy to hear you like my videos! I don't want to be the only lore channel you watch, just your favorite :P

[@phyllisdixon8709]

@@JackisaMimic interesting view and totally agree. LOL love how you are throwing the Black Swordsman under the bus, as in He's the one who is wrong!!!

[@strangeweather8827]

This style of presentation means the details can get granular, our attention paid to not only the big pillars but the little bricks too, as it were.

[@JackisaMimic]

Exactly right! Garris is such an interesting character who represents a much larger theme, but you have to look at each piece that makes up his character to see that bigger picture.

[@Mainlymundane]

Appreciate the response! I still would disagree that Miquella was the mastermind, but that’s the beauty of this game’s lore, everyone can make up their own mind. Love the QA style vids, keep it up 🫶

[@JackisaMimic]

As long as you’re watching the videos and enjoying the content you can think I’m totally wrong about everything lol! It ain’t about being right, it’s just about sharing. Thats where the value is had

[@Luaeria]

That near miss or very precise jump at the waterfall gap gave me quite the thrill lololol

[@JackisaMimic]

The Black Swordsman has 60 Vigor, 80 Strength, and 99 Luck

[@Luaeria]

@@JackisaMimic 😂🤣👏👏

[@DaTanMan01]

This lore could be completely wrong, but I just absolutely adore the way you write the story in a mix of 3rd and 2nd perspective.

[@JackisaMimic]

The primary goal is make an interesting video, the secondary goal is presenting my interpretation of the lore. If at least one person found it fun to watch then I don’t need to be right. Thank you for watching and thanks for the comment!

[@Mr.Efffff]

The idea of Radagon being a secret servant of the sun is really intriguing! Makes the relationship with Rennala as the queen of the full moon even more interesting. Also completely makes sense why Ranni and Miquella would work together at least to some extent. After all neither the sun nor the moon can truly flourish until the Erdtree burns down. Ps. I had a big cat of my own. They make great writing partners. Can’t wait for the next video! The Carians and the Academy are my favorite corner of this world!

[@JackisaMimic]

At the very least, Radagon is definitely an enemy of the Erdtree, he wants it burned down. Radagon and Marika may have grander schemes larger than the Sun Realms revival, but it may just be as simple as that. As Gideon says, Marika wants conflict eternal. If the Sun Realm rises again, surely it will also fall.

[@Mr.Efffff]

@@JackisaMimic Makes sense. I choose to believe in the option with the best symbolism. 😆

[@GodEmperorDragon]

I find it interesting how from the outset of the Tarnished's journey an optional Keepsake is the "Bewitching Branch", as we well know originating from Miquella, only being found in two other locations if not crafted from the Fevor's Cookbook [3] received from Gideon after exploring Mohgwyn Palace. To me this implies from the beginning of the game's development, Miquella's involvement in the fate of the Tarnished was firmly in mind. Furthermore, from a lore standpoint, a demi-god taking a personal interest in someone is by no means accidental. Yet from the game's cutscene the Tarnished is one of "no renown", meaning the things they've yet to achieve have not yet taken place enough for them to receive special recognition. Even Melina isn't sure they can measure up, but somehow Torrent is. Perhaps he recognizes the scent of the "Bewitching Branch" on the Tarnished, or some other marker was put in place by Miquella so Torrent would be able to find them. Regardless, Ranni and Melina, both Empyreans (Melina is probably the Gloam-Eyed Queen) take a personal interest in who Torrent's next master is. In her dialogue while she is giving the "Spirit Calling Bell", Ranni mentions how it was entrusted to her by Torrent's former master, and it has the impression that she was given precise instructions and carried them out; in a similar manner to Melina looking for the Tarnished in a specific location, and entrusting the choice to Torrent. In other words, including his sister Malenia (and her other self Millicent), Miquella united the active Empyreans to ensure the success of a specific Tarnished in the distant future. His Unalloyed Golden Needle also works only in the "storm beyond time" to quell the Frenzied Flame. This has another implication, that Miquella intended for the Tarnished to reclaim Malenia's lost dignity in "Millicent" who says "she'd rather rot into nothingness as she is" than submit to the Scarlet Rot (Malenia most likely doesn't perish like the rest of the demi-gods, and is encased in the Scarlet Aeonia left in her arena, similar to the description describing how her other selves were born), while simultaneously taking on the Frenzied Flame to prevent Melina from needing to die as the kindling maiden, and that he has a method to interact with time in order to gain the knowledge that his Unalloyed Gold Needles work "beyond time". It seems also Marika had some role to play in it. At the Pilgrimage Church, one of the two places where the "Bewitching Branches" can be found, Melina has dialogue from Marika telling the warriors of Godfrey to return to the Land's Between after growing strong in the face of death, and will give back what she had once taken: grace. Interestingly she emphasizes "my Lord Godfrey", yet still refers specifically to the Tarnished he was exiled with as she encourages them to brandish the Elden Ring; implying she wants a new age with a different Empyrean who's Lord will be among the Tarnished Godfrey fought beside. The question remains of why Miquella would allow himself to be captured, seeing as we've confirmed that his plans would almost certainly account for Mohg. I think the answer is to lure him out of hiding so the Tarnished can obtain Mohg's shard of the Elden Ring. Ascending as a god in the Haligtree would still mean he'd have to personally reclaim all the shards of the Elden Ring in order for it to function as the primary Erdtree. There's also the matter of blood, of which the Mohgwyn Palace has pools of. As we know, in order to grow the Haligtree, Miquella watered it with his own blood. The Mohgwyn Palace is basically the most fertile ground in the Land's Between for an Erdtree. So the plan is: give the Tarnished their implements for leveling, traversal and combat, have the Tarnished collect all the scattered shards of the Elden Ring and then use the blood of the Mohgwyn Dynasty to make a new Erdtree with the Tarnished as the Lord Consort, then heal his sister of the Scarlet Rot, give Godwyn a true death, and return all his parents and siblings to the new Haligtree where they will then be reborn (which will be the focal point of the DLC alongside defeating/sealing the rest of the Outer Gods with completed Unalloyed Gold implements, like big cats looking for big prey).

[@JackisaMimic]

Somebody’s thinking using the Laws of Causality and Regression! I only have minor differences with a few things you said(like a few motivations) but majority of it looks spot on IMO for actions and intentions. Nice job!

[@kristintrainor]

That’s a big cat. I love him a lot

[@JackisaMimic]

I know YOU do

[@NerdishNature]

“In a world where you can not die, sleep might be a comfort” well… that’s something to think about over a nice coffee right now. Man… never saw it like that

[@simonachalupova7438]

The highest concentration of chests per square foot in the game

[@JackisaMimic]

Garris has more closet space than I do, that's for sure.

[@Bigboy_smooth]

I love these videos it’s a walkthrough of the area but it’s full of lore and story

[@JackisaMimic]

Glad you like it! The Black Swordsman is going to have his hands full when the DLC comes out :P

[@Luaeria]

As far as the elden beast, I loled at your amoeba comment. 😂🤣 Look up the Laniakea Super Cluster as well as hallucigenia. It’s a super cluster of galaxies that when viewed from afar, resemble the super cluster of stars depicted within the Elden beast. A genius bit of story telling simply in the very form of the creature! Additionally, the prehistoric lobopodian life form suggests immeasurable, unfathomable space and time. Incomprehensible to the feable human mind and it’s capacity for conceptualising or understanding. Truly a magnificent representation of a cosmic being in a video game. My first experience with the Elden beast was so overwhelming. My mind and my heart were racing like you wouldn’t believe!

[@JackisaMimic]

When I saw the reaction to the Elden Beast online I was shocked that people hated the boss (too much running boohoo) because when I got to it my first thought was best final boss in a Souls game. It was so shocking that this was God, and the Elden Ring. Not too mention how beautiful the set piece and music is. I’ll have to look up your suggestions. To me, the Elden Beasts design represents that although it may powerful and look otherworldly, it isn’t actually complex. What I mean by that is humans are complex, we have a multitude of feelings and desires, and sometimes they conflict with each other. I don’t think the Elden Beast has that, it’s a beast after all. It doesn’t want anything, its nature just means it’s compelled to perform its biological function for survival. And that is Order, in all things. No choice and no change, no free will and no chaos. The monotheistic god of Elden Ring is an uncaring space bug.

[@minerman60101]

@@JackisaMimic afaik they patched Elden Beast to rely more on melee attacks and use projectiles more sparingly, that helped a lot. It was my least favorite boss in the game during my first playthrough, in part because it was a weird boss I couldn't figure out how to hit and it would take me a dozen or two more Radagon attempts to have another chance at it. Since the patches I mentioned, them adding more forward momentum to charged attacks, me adopting the use of Fan Daggers, realizing that spirit summons increase the running away, knowing to go directly backwards when it does the enclosing ring(s) attack, and doing numerous random coop sessions, I have steadily liked the boss more and more. I've gotten to Radagon in my RL1 run so we shall see how Elden Beast stacks up to that level of scrutiny. Also, EB has some really neat sound design, check out the video by Sen cataloging all of its sounds.

[@JackisaMimic]

I'm doing an RL1 run right now and Morgott is kicking my ass. I'm not really a stickler when it comes to the moment to moment gameplay of these games, because if I'm honest, it's not that "good" as an action game. There are better action games that have deeper and tighter mechanics (DMC or Dragons Dogma for instance), but as a whole package no one can compare to the artistry on display, as well as the combination of gameplay into story telling. Kojima is another expert in that regard as well.

[@Luaeria]

@@JackisaMimic what is RL1?

[@minerman60101]

@@JackisaMimic I wish I recorded my Morgott kill :(. I did it +0 weapon and no HUD which makes me wish I recorded even more, but I was only persuaded to record my fights at Malenia (shameless plug, check out my youtube). There are probably better action games, but I think with Sekiro and Elden Ring they're getting a lot more mechanical depth to the bosses and I've deeply enjoyed dissecting the mechanics of each one in my playthrough. My opinion on almost every boss improved--only the Ancient Dragons came out the other end of this playthrough with me liking them less. It has a similar appeal to me of getting the golden strawberries in celeste: figuring out strats for each room/boss combo to steadily improve my efficiency and odds of success by taking full advantage of my own moveset. I've heard great things about Armored Core 6 so I've gotta dive into that at some point.

[@JimmyRustler96024]

What do you think about the "fungus theory" concept? In summary - that the wider story ultimately revolves around the mycelium network binding everything together in perpetual decay. The macroscopic blending with the microscopic. Scarlet rot manifests as mushrooms to sprout all throughout Caelid, and even the Haligtree. There is a mushroom crown armor set. Ranni/Renna(Saint Trina's body) appears to be an indigo milk cap. Even the Elden Beast seems to be an invading amoeba. The prophetic statues of worship in the Haligtree holding the giant golden needles may be of Miquella tapping into the mycelium in the DLC... 🍄 Thanks for answering my previous question, and that's a big cat!

[@LordShinyBottom]

Another great video man, my first one was the The Eclipse and I love your style of intertwining Elden Ring Lore in a Guts Audio Book man Bravo

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you! Happy to hear you like this format. It's a lot of fun to make, we just need a Puck spirit ash for it to be complete.

[@anas57710]

High-quality lore videos as always. More people should be aware of this and I will do my part. Keep it up.

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you, I'm happy you enjoy my videos! It's very kind of you to share my work, I really appreciate it.

[@SirianXM]

Great videos as usual! Love your take on St. Miquella/Trina, and his gift of sleep to people who aren't afforded the peace of death 👌

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you! I hadn't seen anyone else talk about sleep in this way so I'm glad you like that interpretation.

[@SirianXM]

@@JackisaMimic it's brilliant 🙏 As a big Sleep Token fan, this kind of attention to the entity of Sleep is much appreciated

[@positivecontacts]

Hey Jack, you say that the Elden Beast is a space bug, but I think that’s reductive. Throughout my first playthrough I kept thinking of the astrology theme and the concept of faith vs intelligence in the battle between the Nox (heliocentric astrologers) and the Erdtree (geocentric sunworshippers). I felt like the demigods, divine towers, Carians and fell gods 8-node manifestation were all a Copernican expression of our solar system. What felt right to me was to consider that the “Greater Will” was gravity, or space time. Rather than being an Eldritch horror in the Lovecraftian sense, with GRRM being an atheist and an existentialist, Miyazaki probabaly too, then the true horror is deep space and deep time, its unfathomable vastness. Marika is waging a proxy war on earth for a god that she may or may not really be in contact with, but what she really wants to overcome is time, to be “Eternal”. The game makes no small effort to convey that fear of time and space by those educated enough to comprehend it, with both Azur, Lusat and later Sellen, all loosing their mind after witnessing the birth of matter from nothing and the collapse of entire cosmic realms into blackness within their minds-eye. When we fight the Elden Beast it is not just a space bug who is god, but an ancient dragon that is the embodiment of the entire localised cosmos, gravity and space time, in a realm beyond space, the ash lake of world trees. In this pocket dimension beyond the reality of the lands between and with a weapon that could slay a god by twisting time, there is an opportunity to defeat the very universe itself, to at least, reset time and space, free from the greater will, before reforging the Elden Ring. Marika should have lived a life eternal, but she certainly set events into motion so that someone else might have a better opportunity than herself. Rambling powered by morning coffee. Best.

[@JackisaMimic]

What you posted right now is why I think it's actually important to reduce the Elden Beast to just "space bug". What you shared was thoughtful and complex, it pulled from your understanding of multiple different fields of thought and experiences that you've had in life. You used intelligence to attempt to deduce things, you used emotion to describe things, and you used faith when you had no evidence otherwise. At the end of Bloodborne when you fight the Moon Presence the most shocking revelation, at least to me, is that the Eldritch horror that has been controlling the situation the city Yarhnam has been in and turning men into blood hungry beasts is no more than a blood hungry beast itself. It crawls on all fours, it screams and groans, and it makes no effort to communicate. In Bloodborne, god is no different to the beast that is within man, and you cannot reason with a beast. The Elden Beast is similar, it's design evokes something more beautiful and maybe more mysterious than the Moon Presence, but its still 'animalistic'. We can deduce the motivations of Marika, Rykard, Varre, and all the other human characters because we can understand people. Although complex, we can still understand them, and we can know them. Bugs, amoebas, whatever, are not so complex. Their goals are simplistic: survive, grow, reproduce. Although an almighty and powerful being that can create Order within things, its still just a beast, and you can't reason with a beast. You can't reason with god. Some might find that through terrifying, but I think the goal from the authors is to show that it is actually freeing. Loved this exchange, can't wait to do a video on the larger themes of Elden Ring so we can have this sort of discussion together!

[@positivecontacts]

@@JackisaMimic Thanks for that really thoughtful reply. I certainly feel a lot of what I think about soulsbourne games, sometimes causing me to grasp in many directions simultaneously to convey my understanding. I appreciate that you can draw rational and clear interpretations and deliver them solidly. I see where your coming from with the space 'beast' theme, but I really think the Elden Beast is not a beast in the literal sense but something else, i'll have to continue my cogitations for a while longer. Looking forward to more videos from you, keep up the goodwork!

[@nbmoleminer5051]

I really like your narration/narrative approach it feels like almost being in the Lands Between

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you, I'm glad you like it! My goal is to bring the audience into the headspace of a character in the world, it's one of the ways I try to build theories and understand the game.

[@robizquierdo900]

I would never in my life expect I'd see a Nas reference in an Elden Ring theory video. Hats off.

[@JackisaMimic]

We respect the greats on this channel

[@Writh811]

Another great tale of the Black Swordsman. I don't really have anything direct to add to the videos topic so I hope you don't mind if I ramble a bit about the some junk in my head. I think a lot of things we are considering as separate with regards to the Lands Between's past are actually connected. During the age before the Erdtree was also the era of the Crucible, the time of Twin Bird, Placidusax's reign, time of the true storm, the time of the stormhawk king, time of the Fell God of the giants, the god slaying black flame, destined death within the order. All of this is starting to look connected and overlapping to me. I think this is all part of the Order of the Twin Birds/Placidusax. I only have circumstantial evidence at best and at most deductive guessing. We know the Twin Birds were pretty much the equivalent of the Elden Beast in their time. Interestingly, while the shield depicting them could lead one to believe it was a two headed bird, the Farum Azula depictions indicate two separate birds. The Twinbird shield as well as the Branchsword talismans indicate a red and a blue bird. The Red Bird likely had contact and dominion over the giants, providing the giants with the red flame. The Giants would go on to develop ironworking and in tribute to their God and their Elden Lord this would be shared with Farum Azula. Evidenced by Beastmen using exclusively iron weapons. Something interesting that also links the Giants to the Farum Azula reign is Forge of the Giants itself. Aesthetically, the forge has 4 dragon heads with long necks serving as the connecting point for chains. The Old Lord's talisman depicts Placidusax with 4 heads (I know his model seems to have a spot for a 5th but lore seems to only acknowledge four with that talisman). You could argue it was for balance but why be dragons at all. Further more, the path to Farum Azula requires us to travel to the Forge and kindle it. There is no logical way to explain away why Ruin Flame would send you to Farum unless there was an already existing connection, Marika didn't make it she just exploited it. If the Giants, Hawks, and Beasts are all loyal to the previous order then it is obvious why they opposed the Erdtree. The followers of the Crucible clearly turned against the Sun realm, attacking Farum Azula. Hourah Loux brutalized the Elden Lord while Marika slew their fleeing god (Item description state she slew the Fell God). I think Marika killed her predecessor in the Forbidden Lands, causing the Red Grace to appear there. When the deed was done they grew the Erdtree which all the Sun realm loyalist saw as a big middle finger. One by one they would each be brought under heel or wiped out by the new Elden Lord. Perhaps it was old Sun Era loyalty that defined who Godfrey's "worthy" foes were, and when the last of them was gone he was no longer needed. Another random aside: Marika is an Empyrean which means she was born from another Empyrean. If that is the case there is a none zero chance that Marika was a child of the God of the previous age. Which also means there is a none zero chance that Placidusax was one of her parents. I know that game says she is a Numen and that they come from outside the lands between but if you find and read the description of the Ancient Dragon Cult Prayerbook it says this Prayerbook never made it to the Lands Between, but we find it in Farum Azula. So rather than Numen being from space like everyone is saying maybe it is far more mundane than that and they are from Farum Azula which seems to be considered outside the Lands Between. That aside we have no indication Marika is from the migrating generation of Numen. I think there is a good chance of Marika being connected to this due to her proclivity to bear non-identical twins. This is a genetic trait the follows women who are born in such circumstances. I know G.R.R.M. is well aware of this matter of genetics so it wouldn't surprise me to have him include it. This means Marika herself is either a non-identical twin or the child of one.

[@JackisaMimic]

Absolutely stellar comment! This is the type of perspective that I think is necessary to understanding Elden Ring. One things I brought up in the video was how the pagan worship of death was interpreted differently by various cultures, but really we are just seeing a parallel to real history. Tell me how many pagans do you know in real life? Not many, I would suspect. Their cultures were either absorbed or destroyed by the Greater Will, I mean Christianity. Whoops 😅 Please share more thoughts in the future, this was a great read and I think you and I are on the same page!

[@DJYungHoxha]

I love this more narrative focused style. Really shows off your writing chops! Keep it up, you've got something here!

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you very much! I hope to return to the Black Swordsman with the DLC

[@mruczek1273]

you can easily make these videos into an audiobook, I like them a lot

[@JackisaMimic]

I hope you’re not saying that because you don’t like my face! I’m joking of course. Thank you for the comment, I’m glad you enjoyed the narration and script!

[@Luaeria]

I really love Preston Jacobs' content as well. In addition to his, David Lightbringer (formerly Lucifer Means Lightbringer) and Quinn's ideas (formerly IdeasofIceAndFire) are INCREDIBLE! Hours and hours of utterly BRILLIANT content!

[@JackisaMimic]

One thing that the ASOIAF community has that the Elden Ring community doesn't is crackpots! Theres a few, but many I think play it too safe(which is fine in its own right). For example, there are literal dopplegangers in this game and there aren't videos out there calling everyone we meet a mimic?! I mean, go to Nokron right before the Finger Slayer Blade, you can fight a mimic of Patches and Bernhal, that should’ve been a video years ago!

[@Luaeria]

@@JackisaMimic So true!!!

[@Luaeria]

Well, Jack. I agree. I am definitely your biggest fan =-D (Oh, and you did very well pronouncing my handle name! lol) Additionally, the audio is great! I love the use of the green screen! What a treat! I can't wait to see how else you put it to use for your content! I appreciate you giving my word salad questions a bit of your time and thoughts! I do have some conclusions and opinions I would love to share with you eventually, but I will save them as conversation pieces when the topics arise or rearise in your future Q&A videos! Hehehe! Absolutely phenomenal stuff you're doing with your channel. I'm so excited to see how eager the community is to engage with you in theory craft and the lending of perspective. I can't wait for your next video! I hope you and your precious kitties are well! Luna and Luther! (My boyfriend and i have four and a fat cat, too, who is 15lbs. She just loves Churu, she can't help it!)

[@JackisaMimic]

Sadly you all won't get to see our third cat Murphy, he is shy and doesn't tolerate being picked up like Luna and Luther. I'm excited too, I'm having a blast with the videos and talking to everyone. And yes, save your questions! Theres a lot of Elden Ring to cover, we will probably get to a topic that interests you in time.

[@k1xnt]

really, REALLY like this format. your narration is great, both the delivery and subject matter. Subbed

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you! I’m glad you liked the video. Theirs big plans for the Black Swordsman once Shadow of the Erdtree comes out!

[@Ontos99]

Your connection of Bran to Miquella - Mohg to Blood Raven is very interesting. Since I recently finished Game of thrones, it posed a cool dynamic in my mind. Not sure if this was the idea in Miyazaki's mind while designing the interplay but it is certainly worth thinking about. Also three eyed raven = similar to the third eye of St. Trina in that torch ;)

[@JackisaMimic]

If you only watched the show you would miss that the Three Eyed Raven doesn't exist in the books, it is in fact a Three Eyed Crow. This is important because Bloodraven has no idea what the Three Eyed Crow is, yet it is the driving force for sending visions and dreams to Bran and convincing him, and Jojen, to go north of The Wall. I think the prevailing theory, at least what I subscribe to, is the Three Eyed Crow is a more powerful version of Bran. Bloodraven is just a pawn in the grand scheme of things.

[@Luaeria]

The moment the black knife assassin grabs the black knight!

[@JackisaMimic]

Glad you liked that part! I want to add more fun and cinematic scenes to the Black Swordsman videos. The grab was totally on accident too, I wasn't trying to get hit (the first time I filmed at least)

[@Luaeria]

@@JackisaMimic it was BRILLIANT! Then the hype backed by the music as he fought off death’s alluring and peaceful embrace with a roar! Bloody EPIC!!!💯💯👏👏👍👍😆😆😄😄

[@Darkheart00]

As much as I may not agree with everything, I think you might be the perfect Loretuber… at least as it relates to MY approach to the lore… My main gripes with many loretubers is that they tend to avoid particular inspiration behind the game, and in some cases direct involvement with the game - I.e - GRRM. I like that you wear Miyazaki, Miura, and GRRM’s works all on your sleeves, while painting a picture that can be produced as a result of a deconstruction of these artists prior works, when trying to make sense of the mythology (Sidenote: W reference to the folks over at the asoiaf comm!!)

[@JackisaMimic]

That’s very nice of you to say! I wear my heart on my sleeve, there is a multitude of reasons that my channel is named “Jack is a Mimic”. Im not a literal made from silver false life but who I am, and what I believe, is because I learned it from somewhere or someone else. In its purest form that is mimicry. In the same vein, Elden Ring is a mimic. As with all art, didn’t come from nowhere. Those that came before to help those that would come after, as the Tarnished Wizened Finger reads. This channel is also just a way to talk to others about Elden Ring, or whatever down the line. We all learn by sharing with each other. It’s why I answer nearly every comment and do Q&As, because even if only one other person hears what you have to say it’s the same as if the whole universe heard you. I want to show that same respect to everyone who shows it to me. Even though this is just a silly KZbin channel I’m still a person, as is every person who watches, subscribes, and comments. I don’t want to be the only loretuber you watch, just your favorite ;)

[@ShadowProject01]

On the Malenia Radahn fight: Mequella needed the eclipse to resurrect Godwyn as part of the ritual to ascend to a true god. I believe that is why Malenia campaigned to Caelid to fight Radahn. He was holding back the stars and lunar cycle preventing the eclipse indirectly as a result and both Mequella and Malenia needed him gone for their goals to be realized…my hypothesis anyway. On Ranni betraying her vassals: I don’t think she did. She tells us to tell Blaidd and Eiji she loves them both befor begining her dark journey. Why would she ask us to deliver that message if she meant to end them? I think she betrayed the Nox (Black Knives) she was suppose to help them bring about their Moon (outer God?) she instead killed her flesh and left them to take the blame for the assassination. They wanted revenge and came to Ranni’s Rise to find her and had to deal with her vassals instead.

[@JackisaMimic]

From a story telling perspective I think its more interesting if its Ranni who had her friends killed. She does love the, truly she does, and that is what makes it tragic. In order to follow the Dark (emphasis on dark) path, she must go alone, she has to cut the loose ends whether it hurts or not. If it's not the case, no sweat, doesn't really change anything about the story just how we look at Ranni as a character.

[@rainbowkrampus]

I don't know that Godwyn's sacrifice was voluntary. I do think that Marika instigated it though. The thing about the Baldr parallel, which I agree is there, is that you've got to account for Loki's role in the affair. In Elden Ring, Marika is our trickster god. She conforms to many classic trickster god tropes and basically is Loki in all but name. I would not be at all surprised if we fight a monstrous horse in the DLC that is hinted at being one of her children (Wtf is Ludwig doing here???). Personally I think Marika sacrificed, or consented to the sacrifice of, Godwyn as part of her long running bid to escape the shackles of the Greater Will. That's more or less what I think this whole series of events we encounter in the game are about. The plan failed in some capacity and we the player are tasked with setting things back into motion. Marika was willing to sacrifice Godwyn because I think he's the unloved son. He's "The Golden", he's beloved, as with Baldr, he's hated by the trickster god of the world for his qualities. In this case, I believe it is because of who his father is that he is hated. His father being the true first Elden Lord. Vaati's recent video actually dips into this a bit and lays out a lot of the justifications for it. But he gets sidetracked by this idea that there's some unnamed god that came before Marika and I think that's kinda silly and ignores the things the game is actually telling us about where the knife came from. Regardless, that was a fun little narrativized adventure through Sage's Cave. Great way to make what is effectively a list of items into something a bit more engaging.

[@JackisaMimic]

Glad you liked the video! I tried my best to make this checklist of items found on a wikipage exciting, but the real hard work was done by the team at FROM SOFTWARE, they totally wanted to tell a story with this area. As for Godwyn, I think the Loki influence is the breaking of the curse-mark, not the assassination itself. It's a twist on the myth, as I see it. Baldr was having everyone throw spears and shoot arrows at him, he was inviting danger, he wanted people to try to hurt him. Loki's mischief was that he introduced the mistletoe dart, or in Elden Ring, split the cursemark. I also don't think we can look at each character and ascribe them to be one character from a different story or myth, I know I did that with Godwyn but its not really so cut and dry. With Loki for example, I see aspects of Loki being represented in Ranni, Marika, and Miquella. I hope that makes sense, thank you for the comment!

[@TheToma305]

Well FN done dude. Much Respect. I am now subbed, you deserve many, many more!

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you! I am glad you liked the video, please watch my others if you haven't! Having one person subscribing to my channel means the world to me, thank you for doing so as well, I hope my future work entertains you just as much!

[@ienott]

Love the video and responses! Im not so sure about the whole sun cult on this scale, but I always thought Miquella is shady as hell, I'm not falling for his UwU cute lil shota play. Feeling bad for Malenia

[@JackisaMimic]

I didn't expand a lot on the evidence for the Sun Kingdom, but I think if I did it would be convincing. For example, the minor castles we find in game (Redmane Castle, Castle Morne, Caria Manor, Fortified Manor, ect..) appear to all be similar in design and look similar to the castle on the Sun Realm Shield. I think that those were Sun Realm castles, but Godfrey and his soldiers, using the power of the Erdtree, were able to conquer them. That's kind of what I mean that Godfrey is a barbarian and not a builder, he takes not creates. I would have to expand it much further but thats the direction I am taking this idea. Thank you for the comment, I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@Bigfacts815]

I love your vids!!! Great story telling

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you! Happy to hear you loved my work!

[@fredperez7984]

Really enjoyed the video, was like a breath of fresh air compared to the other Elden ring channels. Not to mention you’re a very good looking guy haha so definitely wanted to stay for the ride.

[@JackisaMimic]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video! Hope you subscribe and look forward to the next video in this series, should be coming out next month!

[@Drahcir361]

Thank you so much for responding to my comment!! Another great video and a lot to think about. There's a lot of great discussion in the comments in regards to what Miquella's true goals are with Destined Death and Godwyn. I never thought of the idea about what if the black and white flame is an imitation of the flame of Destined Death or a Mimic flame. I've been going back to Hackshaw's Color Theory video thinking about why that could be. Lot to wrap my head around. You touched on Moghwyn palace looking like a stump and being fed by the blood of the battles at Cailed. This made me think about the dark tree wrapping around a black Erdtree in the DLC image potentially being fed by the corpse of Godwyn? If Miquella orchestrated the night of the black knives and Godwyns death, it would make sense for Miquella to be observing the tree from a distance. What if it is a "dream" of Miquella to see this happen? I won't lie and say I don't completely agree with your dlc theory but it is definitely an interesting perspective. ps.. I also have a big cat, but shes a muscular13 pounds 💪

[@JackisaMimic]

This channel is for discussing Elden Ring, it wouldn’t be much of a discussion if you only heard from me. It’s a lot of fun having these back and forths with people. I only have any authority because I’m the one who made a video on KZbin(meaning no authority), so it’s good to bring other people’s perspectives forward and not just my own. Does your BIG CAT lift weights to get so muscular? Mine just eats lol

[@Drahcir361]

@@JackisaMimic She does free climbing all over the house and up my back lol Its such a great platform for discussion and bringing to light people's comments in Q&A videos like this is a generous way to acknowledge those peoples thoughts. Can't wait to see what people are thinking of next

[@kreadapelu8813]

Question 2: Sleep So, I think this no death thing is really misunderstood by a lot of people. Everything is made immortal without Destined Death but not invulnerable. Everything we see that we thank is dead, except things that were killed by DD, is actually alive. Why do they look dead? Death, sleeping, brain death, locked-in syndrome, and total paralysis all look like the same thing. Decay and degradation of cells does not stop happening. Severe injuries that would normally kill something now breaks the body. It can’t heal. The person is just stuck there, unable to move. It is not just injury that can do this. Your cells can just get too old to function. You can even just collapse from absolute hopeless despair. The only hope of freedom from a broken body is for that body to be disassembled. This plays into why some dead can wander about and require guidance from Rosus. His guidance is a lure for people who are ripe enough with grace to walk themselves to Erdtree roots, lay down, and let the roots digest them. His guidance is not for Those Who Live in Death because that would infect the roots with deathblight. Those too broken to move are gathered by the Living Jars. Sleep is a blessed escape from the horror of endless life. Unfortunately, it looks the same as being broken. Those who are just sleeping require guards who will tell the jars that the sleeper is not yet dead. Leads me to what deathblight is. The Elden Ring is a mass of runes. Runes are the animus, grace. Grace is akin to a soul. A living soul. What of dead souls? As living souls are called grace, dead souls are called deathblight. This would explain why deathblight and grace are both “holy.” Question 3: The Sun Realm. I don’t remember where I came across this idea in the game, maybe I made some assumptions. Anywho, a real long time ago Marika encountered a Two Fingers and later they found Hoarah Loux together. Their conquest of the Crucible allowed the Erdtree to grow. The crucible is often represented as a tangled mess of vines, roots, and animals. I never really considered the Sun Realm to be part of the Lands Between. Or was an overlapping place like Roundtable Hold or now the Land of Shadow. And then.. Bushes. There was the Sun Realm. All this things had basically equal access to the sun. The Two Fingers are the ends of roots, branches, or vines of sentient plants. These plants are greedy and at least one catches the interest of a super powerful Numen and a dude who likes killing stuff. The Two Fingers convinced some people to trim the hedges so that their main body can soak up the most sunlight. Godfrey is a weed whacker. Question 5 Godslaying Black Flame and Destined Death. I am under the impression that the Gloam Eyed Queen created the fire of Destined Death much as the Fell God created the Flame of Ruin. GEQ channeled DD through her sword to allow her retainers to also wield the flame of destines death. When the GEQ lost control of Destined Death, it no longer influenced her fire and so the coloring of its influence was lost. The Black flame could be explained the same way as ancient red lightning and yellow/gold lightning. Question 6 Miquella Following the ideas of the eclipse being a symbol of Ranni and Godwyn, there are all sorts of connections that implicate Ranni worked alongside Marika and Miquella. We don’t know the soulless demigods to have dead souls. We don’t know when they were entombed. It could have been before the Night of Black Knives and perhaps that event and/or the eclipse was part of drawing those living souls back to those soulless demigods. The Golden Epitaph and the Finger Reader in the Deeproot Depths imply that the plan involved Godwyn’s full death and that Miquela was a coconspirator in the plan. The Eclipse failed because Godwyn did not die a true death. Question 16 Empyrean The empyrean issue is flustering. My interpretation is that to be empyrean, one must be able to contain an extreme amount of runes/grace and not be driven mad or consumed by it. Runes are dangerous in large concentrations. Let us consider those with great runes. Rykard, dude’s psycho. Radahn, list his mind. Godrick, he is a paragon of lunacy. Morgott, obsessively worships something that cursed him. Mohg, need I say anything? Rennala, the Rune of the Unborn is not even bound to her and she’s a babbling wreck. [edit] Also look at those who make Mending Runes. They all die in the process of forming these powerful masses of runes. Runes are dangerous. [end edit] Empyreans. Malenia just seems really sad. Miquela, he literally came up with a way to prevent the maddening influence of gods on grace. Ranni, she didn’t just resist madness, she completely discarded the power and influence of runes. GEQ, as far as I have determined, she worked to end the insanity of immortality. Marika, she straight up broke the most powerful mass of runes after doing a deep dive into understanding the Golden Order. Golden Order is not just the cult it is also a synonym for the Elden Ring. The fingers picking an empyrean is like picking players for a sportsball team. You want to pick the best players. After all the best players are picked, you just take whatever is left. All the demigods with great runes have a Two Fingers but not all are Empyrean.

[@JackisaMimic]

Thanks for the fun read, good for thought!

[@idknemore525]

I'm going to start sliding "lore compliant" into everyday conversation.

[@JackisaMimic]

When the Lore-police come you better have your papers to prove lore compliance. Its why I flash the items on the screen, I dont want to go to Head-Canon Jail. It's an imaginary place, after all

[@jessebaron686]

Got me gud😂

[@aanastennu]

I'm a BIG CAT. Meow. That the godslaying black-flame is connected with mimics is a cool idea I hadn't considered before, it seems pretty obvious that the godskins are created beings themselves, so it fits well. However I think the white in their flame just works well with the color theory of the elden ring. In the crucible era before the erdtree gold was red gold, then the golden order was founded with the removal of destined death and red gold became gold. I see this as changing the colors of the world, so before the black flames probably were red black at the time of the godskin apostasy, but then were robbed of their true power and color when destined death was confined. Similarly the purple flowers were supposed to be the color of ghostflame, but now ghostflame is pale blue, without the red to make it purple. The black knives' flames are red black because they are directly stolen from the power of the rune of death. When it comes to Radagon and Marika I also see them in a similar way, since Marika's form mirrors the state of the elden ring. She was whole in the beginning with Godfrey, then in removing red destined death she also made Radagon, who is her 'redness' removed. I'd like to know how you interpret the guidance of grace and the Elden Lord ending, since I kind of read it as Marika's directing the tarnished through grace, sacrificing Radagon to die in her place while ridding herself of the Elden beast. Him seemingly being dead (made into a sword) at the end and her way of talking to him as the 'dog of the golden order' doesn't seem to work well with them sharing the same mind and having the same goals and values. Also on his icon the 'aspiration to be complete' by studying incantations and sorcery implies some independence and separation from Marika. Something I've been thinking with the spear that's piercing Marika, since it looks like a red rune fragment, is that THE fragment of the rune of death that was stolen from Maliketh? Returned to Marika after Ranni used it in the Black Knife ritual. Maybe Marika needed that in order to fuse with Radagon again, "thou'rt yet to become me."

[@JackisaMimic]

Man you want me to SQUINT reading this in the Q&A lol. Im thinking that Rune of Death Fragment might be there to keep the Elden Beast at bay, so he can't pilot Marika/Radagon as a mecha and screw up their plans of our Tarnished smacking it around. More on that later :P

[@aanastennu]

@@JackisaMimic haha, feel free to paraphrase it, you don't have to read the whole thing ;D I'm just interested in your response to those ideas. Maybe I do think they are too separate, since I kind of took it that only Marika is speared and imprisoned, the rune ark breaking and her dropping is part of the transformation into Radagon. Who is not speared and is the one hosting the Elden Ring at this point, or at least the part of them allowed to be active with it. At one point I also thought the spear could just be Radagon himself.

[@positivecontacts]

Hey buddy, amazing to hear you shout out Preston Jacobs, I’m here with you buddy. I’m totally on the ASoIaF comparison train!

[@positivecontacts]

Thanks for your videos, I’m really enjoying your conjecture and appreciation of the lore.

[@positivecontacts]

You’re using the dragon “x” gene theory in reverse to work out how Miquella is the prince who was promised!

[@positivecontacts]

I got confused between human/numen. Do you think Rennala is a human as a Carian? Not Nox/Numen/Mimic?

[@JackisaMimic]

You're damn right I am! This theory is a mimic :P

[@JackisaMimic]

I think that her heredity is Numen and something else. We know that the Astrologers in the Mountain Tops diverged into at least two distinct groups: those who discovered the Primeval Current and then created the academy, and then the Astrologers who found the moon and established Caria. The Carian's have a history of making many allies and pacts, so through marriage their blood is not "pure" Numen, there's probably some marriages to other astrologers, or giants, or whoever. Since they are matriarchal though at least one Numen X gene will always be passed down to the daughters of Caria. When Radagon comes along we have a marriage that can produce XX Numen genes, thus an Empryean Daughter. Rennala is also not a mimic(well at least before she started using the rebirth egg), but could be the descendent of mimics. The Urumi is found in Caria Manor and is a weapon of the Nightfolk, beings who used to bleed silver, and the Urumi has a very similar ability to reform itself like the Nox Flowing weapons.

[@Sammysouris]

That was a great cut content - the QnA was great too - thanks for engaging. Personally I don't agree with everything that you say, but in the end I'm in the Ratatoskr camp of thought where "Elden Ring has not provided us enough information to establish a beseline, thus we cannot confidently built upon it" - and your ideas are interesting. Who knew that the "fun" lore interest that we have would devolve into a full blown scholarship, siting the works of "Tarnished Archeology" and "SmoughTown" just to make some sence 😂 Anyway - glad to see you contributing as well - nice chunky cat btw

[@JackisaMimic]

The last book for A Song of Ice and Fire came out nearly 13 years ago, and we still need two more books. Between that, and being a Berserk fan, I am used to finding "completeness" in unfinished stories lol Glad you enjoyed the video and the Q&A, it's a lot of fun to talk to you all about Elden Ring!

[@mekakucha]

god i love these

[@prostheticcat8574]

The Black Knife Assassins are said to be Scions of the Eternal City, therefore it would make sense that they would be in opposition of the gods/golden order/two fingers since they were punished by them for crafting the fingerslayer blade. So if anything revenge is shallow but at the same time the almost complete destruction of their civilisation at the hands of those mentioned seems like enough of an excuse for me. Since they're also said to be Numen and of course Marika is too, there are theories that suggest some kind of strong relationship between not only the Numen but Marika and Ranni in their attempt to thwart the Greater Will together. With betrayal happening thereafter with the execution of Godwyn and further betrayal by Ranni towards the Black Knifes, hence Alecto (Mother of Black Knife Assassin Tiche) being imprisoned at on the plateau that forms the moonlight alter. (Ranni's domain) So it makes sense to me why Iji was assasinated and found dead amongst the scattered remains of Black Knife Assassins. The same with Blaidd, except in his case he was the victor. As for the black flame on Iji's corpse, I'd reiterate what Jack suggested here. Either that or the devs didn't mean to use that asset or I'm missing something someone else might be able to suggest. Only thing I can relate to the use of black flame is the Godskin located near Ranni's body, with the suggestions that people have made prior that Ranni's teacher was/is the Gloam Eyed Queen and master/creater of the Godskins/black flame. But that's a whole other can of worms.

[@JackisaMimic]

Speaking of the Nox being punished and being forced underground, I think we may know where they were above ground. The Consecrated Snow Field has the same petrified trees we find underground and it also has Ordina, which is Numen architecture. Maybe the snowfield wasn't always a snowfield, we do find a Dragon embedded in the ice in the Cave of the Forlorn(I think that what it was called), and I don't think you can see the stars from the snowfield due to the weather. Just a thought I've been playing with, I haven't done a thorough investigation yet. Thanks for the comment!

[@prostheticcat8574]

@@JackisaMimic I think I saw a Tarnished Archeologist video where he spoke on the architecture there also and I think it's certainly a theory worth exploring further. As you said before about the Astel located in the Snowfield, we have two points of reference here that relate. I specifically like what you mentioned there about the sky no longer being discernable, or the stars for that matter. Makes me wonder how the Nox may well be related to the Astrologers of yore, those that resided in the Mountaintops with the giants before the war. I think its worth exploring further either way. The Law of Causality is strong in this game, it's up to us to solve the Regression afterall. Also, forgot to add "big cat" to my initial comment! Thanks for the response!

[@nuhuhnope7579]

I believe the representation with st trina is more important than given attention. The design on St Trina's torch as a grown women with their eyes covered but an open third eye could represent the awakening of Miquella after entering sleep within the haligtree. Could it be possible that the purpose of a 'martyr to destined death' was to create a new destined death out of godwyn? The purpose of the corruption may have been to create the imbalance in death. The nascent butterflies and trinas lillies are ghostly, and may represent that miquella/trina are dead in body, but not in soul, like Ranni. Existing in the little death of sleep as a new god, the other side of the coin that is death.

[@JackisaMimic]

I see it as a way to represent Miquella’s ability or affinity to interact with souls. Sleep is the cousin of death, and as you say, lilies snd butterflies are ghostly. I will have to reread your comment and consider it. Would you mind if I possibly featured it in a future video? If not, thank you for sharing your thoughts!

[@nuhuhnope7579]

@@JackisaMimic Feel free to use it if you would like. Your videos have caused me to rethink a few of my own opinions on Elden rings lore, love the content so far. To clarify the point about Godwyn, it seems like the purpose was to reintroduce destined death to the lands between with Godwyn as a sacrifice to be reborn through the erdtree, thus the erdtree burial he received and the lament of his deaths circumstances. The corruption of the process created the duality of death we see in the lands between now. I edited the original post as I meant to say like Ranni and not like Malenia.

[@JackisaMimic]

In the end Destined Death is introduced back into the world thanks to our character killing Maliketh. I do think that is part of Miquella’s designs, because I subtly imply that Miquella is the one who created or is sending the Destined Death burning the Erdtree prophecy. I mentioned this to another commenter on a different video, I was thinking of bringing it up in the next Q&A or maybe in a trailer reaction video if one comes out, but perhaps the goal of creating deathroot is to prevent souls from entering the roots so Miquella can do something with the dead souls or his own spirit. He is assumedly husk when we find him, perhaps he is doing something with his spirit outside of his body and deathroot allows him to do so without being vacuumed into the Erdtree. A lot of wacky stuff going on this channel, glad my videos have made you think about the game differently!

[@nuhuhnope7579]

@@JackisaMimic I agree that destined death returning was part of the plan, I think it was the method that differed. We see multiple examples of death being handled by various cultures from the past of elden ring, indicating that it can take new forms depending on the order it is a part of. Golden order fundamentalism may have been attempting to supplant the erdtree faith and the elden beast. Perhaps Godwyn was meant to serve as the new death, becoming a dying and rising god, like the sun. His death and rebirth creating the death for the new order. A sacrifice to death to bring on an age of rebirth. However what Miquella wanted was a true death, not a rebirth. Thus contextualizing the description on the sword.

[@JackisaMimic]

A lot to think about, thanks for engaging. Going to have to consider your perspective on this!

[@twodumbgamers9285]

I had a realization the other day while pondering the lore of elden ring. Elden Rings lore is basically a giant expert level Sudoku puzzle. Where characters and events can usually fit into multiple spots in the puzzle, it's only once you figure out adjacent, parallel or perpendicular spots that you can truly find which character or event fits in its true spot. Similar to how when trying to figure out where a specific number goes in the Sudoku puzzle. It usually has multiple spots I could go but you only find it's true spot once you figure out other numbers first. I do believe at some point we will figure out that one "number" (character or event)which is confusing us all and once it's found, it will reveal where many other "numbers" go. I personally think that character could be the GEQ. I think if we could find out who she was and where she came from it would help bring light to many other questions and confusing theories. Also thanks for mentioning my comment! You the man! With the big cat🐈!! 😏

[@JackisaMimic]

You’d love my research folder, it’s all 18(to my estimation) major character and the item, area, or dialogue that can be associated with them. So you can tie one item or dialogue between a few characters to determine motivation, allegiance, or place in the time line. It was like doing Sudoku lol. Now I’m building it out by “family”. The Carians are done but next I have Marika/Radagon and Marika/Godfrey/(mystery character). We got the numbers just need to know where to place them The GEQ is hard to place because she has ties between a few themes and characters, he exact identity can’t be placed but I think I know which “group” to put her in.

[@twodumbgamers9285]

@@JackisaMimic oh yeah! I wish I had the time to really plot everything out like that! Keep my thoughts in order hahaha There's a channel you should talk with about your ideas, he's a small KZbinr like yourself which I think is honestly better with these lore videos! The big guys end up just discussing the same things over and over. His channel name is Ontos. He has an interesting theory on the GEQ. He proposes that she was Dragonlord Placidusax's consort. She was the queen to him being the Elden lord. Which is why we find the only main boss battle with both Godskins and that's where Maliketh is because that's where he fought the queen. It would also explain why the dragons attack Lendell. But I bring this up because if she was the queen during the age of the dragons then maybe she is the one depicted in the statue of a young girl with 3 wolves around her in Farum. Also the beast eye is the GEQ's actually eye which I think is Melina's eye. I believe when she was defeated her powers were sealed into the godslayer greatsword because the power to slay a god through flame had to go somewhere(had to have its own vessel if you will, like what happens to Radagon in his boss fight) because when defeated she also had a curse mark seal placed upon her eye. Cutting her off from being the vessel for the power(could be why Melina's hards are burnt, she wielded the flame). As well as sealing Destin death within Maliketh. Before we release Destin death back into the world I think black flame is what the red flame of Destin death turns into. It's lost it's red hue. Only once Maliketh is defeated and we release death does Melina's seal break and she becomes the GEQ once again. But to make this even longer, with all this said I still don't know where she comes from. Because if she's a queen then maybe she is also a Numen like Marika. Potentially a sister or mother or even just a different Numen who rose to be an Eternal Queen before Marika did. That would also make her have some ties to the eternal cities and the Nox potentially, even maybe the black knife assassins, who use Destin death and black flames. Apologies for the lengthy reply but wanted to get my thoughts across hahaha cheers brother! Looking forward to the next video!

[@JackisaMimic]

@twodumbgamers9285 Ontos and I have chatted a lot in each other comments before! He’s a really smart guy and makes great videos I also though that the Beast Eye was the GEQs eye but I think it’s most likely Maliketh’s eye, with the infusion of the Rune of Death in his body giving it the ability to detect deathroot and giving it the gloamy coloring

[@twodumbgamers9285]

@@JackisaMimic should have known you two have already crossed paths! You both do fantastic work! Maybe there will be a collaboration in the future hahaha

[@MortalMayonnaise]

Awesome vid

[@JackisaMimic]

Glad you liked it!

[@yousnoozeyoulose99]

damn thanks for putting me on Windmills, their musics fantastic

[@JackisaMimic]

Happy to share! The very first loretuber EpicNameBro showed many of us Windmills back when he was making Dark Souls videos in 2011-2012, I am glad I can keep that legacy going!

[@spencerharmon681]

Wow, I'm really enjoying the dramatization. I feel like you couldn't go wrong with doing something similar to other areas in the Lands Between.

[@JackisaMimic]

Glad you like the video! I have plans to continue the Black Swordsman’s journey but I need to see how we access the DLC before I commit to the next video in his saga. Hope you stick around for my other upcoming videos in the meantime!

[@eldenringpvpenthusiast1710]

There is a room with a merchant that sells a larval tear in the area below ancestral woods. That room had no doors untill the inverted hawks broke into it. Every inverted hawk is dead and only fallen hawks that burn their fellows bones for fire remain. Almost every fire made by inverted hawks have been snuffed, and some of those dudes died in their sleep. Local ancestrals and the merchant that now takes residence in that room, only use oil for fire. Besides the pillars you can light, thats not wood... looks more like the ever burning undead you can find crucified around the lands. Theres a man eating octopus and flower outside the room. Wtf was in that room with no doors?

[@JackisaMimic]

I love your description of this area. I have a video planned for the Black Swordsman to explore the ruins of the Ancient Dynasty, and this is definitely an area I will be very interested in. I will have to pay close attention to the fires used in those areas.

[@eldenringpvpenthusiast1710]

very nice, i'll definitly be tuning in. It's my favorite area@@JackisaMimic

[@ironmonkey349]

Godwin represent a failed Ego death. If you take the Elden ring as Marika Psyche, Godwin's ( Godrick's ) rune is at the center, holding other complexes together. That's the Ego in Jung's psychology. But Godwin didn't die a proper death and you can see Marika's shadow ( death ) creeping from the roots of the Erdtree from deep below, meaning from deep in her unconscious. Thus one reason for why Miquella would want Godwin's true death would be to give Marika a proper Ego death so she can start to heal... Maybe from the death of an unborn child aka Messmer? And it make sense if he truly is a healer who calm the hearth of man to have the power over dreams, since it's often from dreams that we can pierce into our unconscious and shadow.

[@loganpozitiv6084]

I like your conspiracies and the quality of your narration. Have I ever seen anyone suggest that Ensha could be the king of the solar kingdom? (It's just a guess, but I have another theory.) Perhaps this was Miquella's first attempt to create a King of the dead, which was held at Sol Castle. Ohh great sun! Frigid sun of Sol! Surrender yourself to the eclipse! Grant life to the soulless bones!" Armour graced with gold human bones. Worn by the unspeaking adherent of Sir Gideon the All-Knowing. Slowly replenishes HP when HP is reduced. It is said that the bones belong to an ancient lord - the soulless king. The lord of the lost and desperate, who was known as Ensha. Skeletons with golden bones can also be found on the Altus plateau. Perhaps bones were found there, which were later attached to the banished knight armor, which can be found everywhere in the Round table hold.

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you I am happy to hear you enjoyed the video! I would place The Sun Realm's Capital at either Farum Azula, Stormveil, or some unknown/destroyed area. The forts and a smaller castles in the game, such as Castle Sol, are rather small for it to be a place for royalty and seem to only be used for militaristic purposes. The Fortified Manor and Caria Manor are the only exceptions I can think of right now that seem to have enough area and lodging for it be used by potential Sun Realm royalty(prior to Godfrey's Conquest) As for Ensha, he could have been a previous Elden Lord, Lord, or King of the Sun Realm but I don't see him as a possible Prince of Death. I was implying that the bones arent attached to the armor the bones ARE the armor. Ensha is the armor, when you kill Ensha you start wearing his bones as armor. If you look at the armor and the Risen Skeletons you see the same black dirt/tar holding the bones together. Looking at the Ghost's line: "Surrender yourself to the Eclipse, Grant life to the soulless bone" that appears to have already happened. If you follow my theory then the Eclipse is Ranni(Moon) splitting the cursemark and killing Godwyn's soul(Sun). The byproduct of that event is Deathroot and Those Who Live In Death which are skeletons (soulless bones) reanimating (granted life). So because Godwyn became the Prince of Death people like Ensha are given new life again. I hope that answer makes sense. I would really love to see Ensha in the flesh in the DLC, that would make for a very interesting conversation!

[@loganpozitiv6084]

@@JackisaMimic Anything can happen. But Ensha is one of the most mysterious characters for me. Thanks!

[@mysteryneophyte]

I think that in the DLC we will learn that Miquella is actually... the Greater will, itself, or what is mistakenly called The Greater Will but is really... The Absolute. What could be likened to a living embodiment of Thee ALL or the Divine pleroma. In truth the first emanation from the fullness of The godHead. All that info however isnt the main reveal as it is revealed at the very beginning of the Dlc... in a dream sequence for some reason! ( because everybody keeps saying stuff about dream sequences ) but anyway I digress... So, anyway by the end of the DLC is where it all finally TRUEly comes into focus where it is revealed that we, meaning us as the one playing elden ring as its tarnished main character have actually been Miquella all along!!!! And i dont mean just with in "the game" either but in real life! Are now, was and allways shall be. B6 the time credits are rolling is when all of reality melts away (since it's ALL only a dream sequence of Miquella anyway... Apparently) for whatever reason ? Miquella god of dream sequences! Anyway once reality is shattered and The Mask finally slips off of us as well It then all becomes apparent that we, as Miquella if you recall are, (and actually always have been... For real this time ) are Hidetaka Miyazaki Not the famous Hidetaka Miyazaki of from software fame. No, not even that other Miyazaki from studio Ghibli or whatever either... actually just some random dude named Hidetaka Miyazaki who is actually not even Japanese. Because we are like, an Eskimo only not really... more accuratly we just imitate that because we remember that we are actually just a robot! A robot... from the future! in a dream sequence (of future dream sequences)

[@JackisaMimic]

"We're just making this shit up" - GRRM

[@core-nix1885]

Pssssssst. Big cat. Can you discuss my theory on the basilisks? In DS1, Nito and the Basilisks represented the not-I (anagram and homophone [not-eye], respectively). This is a reference to a philosopher called Fichte. Also consider Eye of Death = Eye of "Desu" (Desu = to be, in Japanese; the "u" sound is suppressed) In ER, Godwyn's basilisks represent the "knot-eyes" of the Deathrooted Greattree. You can see Godwyn's peepers in the roots near the Tibia Mariners, the Catacombs and Deeproot Depths. P.S. The grace of gold was teased in The Ringed City (Londor = Lande d'Or [Golden Land], Grass = Grâce [Filianore, the Grass Goddess]) P.P.S. The Miquella Mimic theory is awesome, the Lost Ash of War description is a Baudrillard reference - there were a lot of these in DS2; Lindelt was basically a Way of White/Sable Church Mimic. P.P.P.S. Talking of chromosomes, there's a series theme linking femininity to betrayal; XX in Dark Souls is Velka's number (Judgment in Tarot, a double-cross), 20 Estus is the higher limit in DS1, Velka's Rapier cuts a V and an inverted V (V + ^ = XX) Velka's set is called Judgment set in DS2, Sulyvahn wields Greatsword of Judgment, Tower Key costs 20k...

[@JackisaMimic]

You put the code-word I read the comment, I'm oath-bound by the rules I have written. I might not understand it all but I'll do my best to read and response! Thank you for the comment.

[@core-nix1885]

​@@JackisaMimic Thanks bro. I guess trunks typically have knots rather than roots, but Godwyn is also "first of the dead" so "not-I" still fits him. Fichte posited that the absolute "I" projects the relative "I and not-I", what we might otherwise term Self and not-Self. It's similar to Hindu belief but something he independently converged upon (by contrast, Buddhism is based in late Hinduism which focuses on the idea of an "absolute not-I").

[@SirAxelGrimnir703]

48:17 Ranni does tell us she was ONCE an empyrean.

[@JackisaMimic]

Exactly! A spirit, nor a doll, could house the Elden Ring after all ;)

[@patriciapandacoon7162]

blew my mind regarding the singularity of Radagon and Marika, specifically the framing of "don't think of their actions separately, but together" i.e. instead of Marika did X, Radagon did Y; Marika did X SO THAT Radagon would do Y. Out of curiosity, what do you think the origin of Radagon is? Given the missing sword notch in the Roundtable Hold and the strong references to Arthurian legend with Godfrey, I'm thinking the situation is a sort of convoluted Godfrey as Arthur, Marika as Guinevere, Radagon as Lancelot situation. Second question: what do you think of the order of events as posited by Tarnished Archaeologist where there was a Greattree that was felled, from the stump grew sprouts in the Primordial Crucible, the culling of competing sprouts led to the rise of the Erdtree? Love your videos so far, you've earned a sub and my hearty recommendations to others! Edit: also, love your big cat! lol

[@JackisaMimic]

Glad you enjoy my videos enough to share! You bring up a lot of great questions so I'll answer them now. Consider this a rough draft, but will feature this question in the next Q&A: I think Radagon is most likely a mimic tear of Marika. When comparing characters to other myths and stories the best place to start is ASOIAF and move from there, that is my perspective. For example, I would start with "if Godfrey is Robert Baratheon, Marika is Cersei, and Radagon is Jamie, Wolves are Starks, Dragons are Targaryens" then find the overlap in Arthurian Legend, Norse Myth, ect.. Like all comparisons it isn't one for one but that is the lens I view the story and I think jumping off from GRRMs work first is the safest and easiest path to take. In my understanding of the timeline the Crucible comes first, it is all life blended together in a primordial form. The Crucible Knight's grieves call the crucible chaotic. It isnt until the Elden Stars land onto the planet and the Elden Ring arrives does life start becoming orderly. To quote Oscar Wilde, "Without order nothing can exist-without chaos nothing can evolve." I see the Greattree as the natural evolution of the Erdtree, the child to the adult. That doesn't mean other trees weren't felled, afterall Godfrey's signature weapon is the man-made enemy of trees: the axe. When the Elden Ring was shattered it spread seeds and those seeds grew into Minor Erdtrees, so we know that other Erdtrees can be planted by seeds, and Erdtree sap grants people great power and ability. Its all just a cycle, stand before the Elden Ring become Elden Lord. Who is to say that the Elden Ring was only shattered once? I can see a scenario where Horah Loux and his band of barbarians are going around chopping down all of the Erdtrees so there is only one Erdtree that they can control and monopolize the power of the Erdtree Sap, making himself the king. A crown warrants strength, after all.

[@LevistaeirSSR]

The godslayers used to be the holders of destined death, it used to be that flame

[@alitriple6ix384]

Can u so a whole playthrough like this?

[@JackisaMimic]

That would be A LOT of content! I want to do more videos like this for Shadow of the Erdtree, but there is still some areas and topics I want the Black Swordsman to cover before he enters the DLC (Namely investigate the Ancient Dynasty and finding Miquella's Cocoon). So you may see videos after the DLC comes out of the Black Swordsman doing base content until I think "he" is ready lol

[@WunstarSymbiosis]

Miquella is Mycelia, Helphen's Steeple is Hyphae's Shelter which are Trees, Hyphae (Mycelium threads/fingers) comes from Hephaestus who is a god of fire and our gods of fire are botanical photosynthesis and fungal decomposition creating the right chemistry for fire and thus life on land. Hyphae also means thread, weave, and web in Proto-Euro etymologies. The Primeval Current is the Cosmic Web, Mycelia, Root, and Vascular systems of life and death. The Greater Will is us the player in game and us in real life. In the "battle" of life and death, they are The True Absolute, as Egalitarian (equal, eagle, ego) as it gets. The Halig Tree is life beginning in The Lands Between and through analogy is Earth's beginning as well for land.

[@JackisaMimic]

The Greater Will is GRRM because both of them abandoned their creations 😭

[@positivecontacts]

You said that Miquella is eternally youthful and therefore we cannot gauge his age, as Marika is also Eternal, but, I took it to be self evident that Miquella and Malenia were the newest and youngest of the prime demigod roster, being begat of Radagon after he moves to the Erdtree capital to marry Marika, and possibly only being born after they merge into one upon the shattering. They could also have been birthed before the shattering, part flesh then given runes. After all, there is time for Miquella to have spent time with Radagon developing a relationship. Am I thinking about the timeline correctly? Also, what do you make of Gowry saying “An Empyrean...is no mere demigod. In the age of the Elden Ring, and Queen Marika, the precious Empyrean was born. A new god to forge a new Order.” I always took that to mean that the GEQ must also be the offspring of Queen Marika, if empyrean-hood didn’t exist before her ascendancy. If your the vessel for the Elden Ring, then perhaps you can give birth to people that have fragments of the power of the ring (ie the embodiment of the rune of death), but who, in themselves are not runes. When you shatter the ring, you distribute large, qualified runes (ie the anchor ring), to people, anybody who can attain them, allowing a path for both demigods and mortals to ascend to godhood. An empyrean must be a female or androgyne that can also house a combination of runes that can become the Elden Ring within living flesh. All of house Marika’s daughters are empyreans. Hmmm fire and blood, and gold. I also re-listened to “Time travelling Bran” yesterday and have a feeling I know where you’re going with your Miquella conjecture. Would love to talk more about general crossover imagery sometime, I’ve enjoyed the parallels between the two so much. Also have you watched David Lightbringer’s Mythical Astronomy of Ice and Fire series, I think it leans more heavily into the symbolism than Jacobs looking into the narrative, which works well for ER because it’s a more thematic and visual medium. Moon meteors, dragons and hive minds in the weirwood-net is good stuff.

[@positivecontacts]

I just came back to the video after a week and am re-listening and you touch upon exactly what I posited about the GEQ, must have planted a seed in my mind. Best.

[@JackisaMimic]

Gowry's dialogue is very important because he slips in a lot of important information that I don' think anyone has caught on to yet, he is very sly. For example in the quote you used, when is the Age of the Elden Ring? Godfrey's age is the Age of The Erdtree, possibly also the Age of Plenty, and then after that is the age of Radagon but it isn't given a title. So is the Age of the Elden Ring what we are currently in, or is it a previous age? Another line of Gowry's: " The rotting sickness that afflicts Millicent has no cure. When the Erdtree flourished, even the demigods could not stave off." When did the Erdtree flourish? Flourish means to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way. So did the demigods try to stave it off when the Erdtree was a blooming sappling or a full grown tree? When did this actually occur, and which demigods?

[@positivecontacts]

@@JackisaMimic Well, I think he sets the condition be specifying the 'in the age of the elden ring,', meaning from it's arrival in the lands between, then 'and Queen Marika' so only from the time when the ER was housed inside Marika as it's vessel. Thematically it seems that the 'holy grail' becomes personified through the queens reproductive capabilities therfor empyreans would be a novelty of this happening between ER and human, but annoyingly Maliketh's Remeberance says that Marika was also an empyrean, which could mean she was the first but doesn't validate the theory that empyreans came from and after Marika. As for the rot flourishing, I think that the lifecycle of the tree could have been expressing rot before the removal of the rune of death, therfore the gods might not have had there immortality yet? There might have been an Olympian and Hadian situation between the Nox and the Greatree/Erdtree supporters, the rot is part of how the tree grows, but the Olympian side cutout the other half.

[@Ontos99]

You've reminded me of my explorations into the sealed tunnel with this video haha. I see why now you believe Miquella to be evil as you connected the nascent butterfly being alluded to in this cave to be connected to all the other themes of death suggested, Miquella being their leaders of sorts and the main opposition of the DLC. Did I get your thought process right? I view this as more of a foreshadowing of Miquella's aims and how central of a figure he will be in the DLC, rather than a confirmation or suggestion that he will be the main opposition of the DLC. But I know understand why you feel that way

[@JackisaMimic]

I don't think Miquella is evil, I just think he has the most elaborate and far reaching schemes. The Sage's Cave shows an alliance or interest with people who hold outlawed and ancient pagan beliefs within the Lands Between, namely those who follow the God of Death. The dominate Erdtree culture is firmly monotheistic following the Greater Will and eliminating other forms of worship or beliefs (Killing the Giants, removing the Rune of Death, eliminating the Sun Realm, ect...). There is a long and forgotten history in the Lands Between, but some people remember a time before the Erdtree, and I think Miquella is one of them. I don't think Miqeulla will be antagonistic to the player Tarnished, but he will offer a different perspective and elucidate some truths. For instance, that he created the Destined Death/Burning of the Erdtree prophecy ;)

[@Ontos99]

Yeah, I can see what you mean. By that logic, who do you suppose is the statue in Farum Azula surrounded by three wolves? (I think I know your answer haha)@@JackisaMimic

[@JackisaMimic]

​@@Ontos99 Probably Marika, she is 'the Eternal' afterall. If not Marika, a close relative to hers(mother, sister, ect.)

[@Ontos99]

@@JackisaMimic I personally have a VERY speculative theory that is based on our discussion with Ranni while she way giving us the spirit bell. This is my least confident theory but there is a particular connection to Melina and Miquella I cant seem to ignore. The former master phrase, the unalloyed gold depictions in the items. A deep relationship between Melina and Miquella can exist similar to Darian and devin in my opinion. But this is 99% false haha. Tell me your thoughts. Maybe i can make a video on it with the caveat that this is unhinged speculation territory

[@Ontos99]

Oh? I thought you were gonna say either Melina or Miquella haha@@JackisaMimic

[@Gh0st652]

I enjoy.

[@JackisaMimic]

I thank

[@s-nooze]

Big cat Luther hello sir. Jack what do you think about Godwyn --> G'wyn what are the chances? Thanks for answering the question about House Marais and for that thing you said about Miquella's Needle maybe being similar to a Bewitching Branch. To be honest I would think Malenia would be inclined to help her twin brother without the need for coercion because he could heal her, but it's an interesting idea either way, especially since Millicent sets out to do the exact same thing as Malenia like she's running a script. Ok this is a long comment thanks for the vids looking forward to more.

[@JackisaMimic]

What's interesting about Millicent is that she has memory loss due to the Scarlet Rot (as does Radhan). So why would Miqeulla need to manipulate Malenia? Well, they're twins and both the same age, and if Miqeulla is ancient then so is his sister, but only one of them remembers ;) Will expand further in the Q&A, but that should suffice for now lol

[@EduardoNicoleit]

Just in time.

[@JackisaMimic]

Let me know what you think!

[@albertozalon8477]

Love the theory super interesting but i feel alot of it is reaching. For example the bewitching branch and the g needle are similar. However that doesn't mean the golden needle is bewitching in anyway. The lilies grow because miquella causes things to grow he is a demi god of growth life etc.. By using his flower part of his power is imparted unto the needle. He himself has no need for the needles he is bewitching already. If he had the power to block the outer gods with his bewitching power he would have done so already.

[@JackisaMimic]

You are right, just because the golden needle and bewitching branch are similar does not mean that they function similarly. However, this is a story written by people, there is no such thing as a coincidence in something crafted with this much care. I don't think we will ever get confirmation that Unalloyed Golden Needles have bewitching power, but I think thats the point. For us as the audience to draw these conclusions and then question whether or not the actions and intentions of our characters are truly theirs or of someone else's design. Similar to how there are silver mimic tears that can turn into people. When there are creatures that can turn into an exact, or near exact copy, of someone or something else we can't fully trust the characters we meet are who they say they are. Thank you for the comment, I am happy you enjoyed the video!

[@albertozalon8477]

@@JackisaMimic i get what you mean writing as always has no coincidences. That said i feel that a similarity in this case does not mean much outside of the obvious, its more akin to say the uchigatana and nagakiba both being from the land of reeds and both being weapons rather than say the connection between the black knifes being numen same as marika. Basically they are similar because thier origin and use is similar but not because they are directly connected. miquella was a genius and a creator, tools, spells etc.. The tool in question is a needle. But i think thats as far as the connection goes. As for the mimic tears its seems to me that their ability to copy only goes as far as physicality. We dont know the limits of their ability but without the targets memory there are not many npcs that could be a mimic tear that we dont see die or cant attack ourselfs to find out. And we havent been shown any mimics pretending to be anyone I don't think they can maintain thier form outside. I think thats why the asime questline was removed given that it's basically complete.

[@JackisaMimic]

I think the Asimi questline may have been cut for narrative reasons, because it gives too much away, not that they changed how the mechanics of the world operate that late into production. I haven’t seen many theories on “who might be a mimic” when I think that’s probably one of the most fundamental question that should be asked when we see multiple instances of how far their ability can go. That being said, I can’t point to a character and say “that’s a mimic” but I can say that in Nokron, before the Fingerslayer Blade, we fight a mimic who uses a short spear and tower shield(like Patches) and one with a zweihander (like Berhnal) and then one that turns into a troll. I can only point to that and say “isn’t that peculiar.” Thanks for the back and forth, I appreciate you sharing this much of your opinion!

[@FE2E00]

I've always understood the "Empyrean = born form one god" thing to be a misunderstanding caused by the way it's phrased in Japanese. 故に二人は神人であるが、その生は脆弱であり could be either >(..children of a single god,) therefore both are empyrean, but their lives are fragile >(..children of a single god,) therefore although both are Empyrean, their lives are fragile "...が、" (but/however/although) here is a conjunction to communicate contradiction between the two clauses. The first translation doesn't make sense in the context of Elden Ring. There are counter examples of Empyreans we know are not from a single god. In Japanese, the remembrance can also be read to not say anything at all about what makes one an Empyrean. The second translation is more in line with this. So it seems clear to me, the intent is that being born of a single god is used to explain their sickness despite their Empyrean status. Possibly this is a parallel to how inbreeding causes genetic defects in real life, maybe it's thematically connected to how stagnation brings disease as seen in other From Software games. I like your big cat! (No question, just hope to clarify things for anyone confused by this)

[@JackisaMimic]

I agree, I am happy to see that the Japenese seems to back up this interpretation. In ASOIAF the Targaryens famously were incestual to keep "the blood of the dragon" pure, and only certain Targaryens can ride dragons or hatch dragons. So incest allowed them to have more dragon riders but it also, you know, caused genetic and personality defects in a lot of their children. Since my perspective of Elden Ring comes from someone who is a fan of GRRMs previous work that is the lens I see Empryeans and their ailments.

[@chrisstokes1264]

What do you think about the black flame being what is left of the gloam eyed power after the rune of death. The black blade wasnt the orignal holder of the death rune correct?

[@JackisaMimic]

The Rune of Death was removed from the Elden Ring, and it seems that Great Runes and Elden Runes (Marika's and Radagon's runes are considered Elden Runes from their Scarseals, I assume the Rune of Death is an Elden Rune as well) need some sort of host. Whether its someone or something, like Maliketh's sword. The Rune of Death, like all Great/Elden Runes, dictate a metaphysical concept within the world, in this case the Rune of Death dictates Destined Death. The Rune of Death being removed and sealed away took away the power of the Black Flame, if ALL death is removed the power of the God-Slaying Black Flame is also removed. So what is the Black Flame? We know that the Rune of Death imbued weapons like Maliketh's sword or the Black Knife blades have a redblack flame, but the God-Slaying Black Flame is black and white. The absence of red and the inclusion of white could be two things in my mind: the sealing of Destined Death removed the red and left the color white OR The God-Slaying Black Flame is a Silver Tear Mimic of Destined Death. Black Flame is a mimic of Death. The white color of the Black Flame looks very similar to the colorlessness of silver and silver tears. So I think its one of those two options and based on my channel name you can see where I lean ;)

[@Luaeria]

eeeep! I can't believe this dropped whilst i was sleeping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@minespatch]

Do you think Patches left his hood here since the hood belongs to Patches set?

[@JackisaMimic]

Patches is actually very interesting, he seems to know things and have been places you wouldn’t expect. Why does he sell Margit’s Shackle? Why the interest in Tanith’s castanets? Also out of all his iterations he is the most helpful, honest, and kind. So the hood? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be shocked if we learned in the DLC that Patches is much more important than we realize.

[@minespatch]

Since Sage cave is near Mt Gelmir, makes sense. I'm hoping he sells his set in the dlc cause I'm tired of people mercing him in other worlds so I can own his set without killing him.@@JackisaMimic

[@JackisaMimic]

I’ve had theory for a time before Elden Ring that Patches is Miyazaki’s stand in character. I never kill Patches, I couldn’t do that to Miyazaki :(

[@minespatch]

@@JackisaMimic That's why I usually ask people to get me the outfit. I have a close connection to the character.

[@mysteryneophyte]

Your suggestion for what the content of a DLC may look like is I think unrealistic because it seems as if you are essentially suggesting that they add a new storyline into the game that is the same only different as original game in other words for a DLC they give us the same amount of game that we had originally? New demigods? An entirely new previous cycle? Maybe but I would guess that it is more likely that it will only gently expand upon what is already there and not B what is essentially just Elden ring version zero, the prequel. I am admittedly often negative and very cynical so maybe I'm just thinking about it the wrong way and I would love to be proven Wrong by you. It would make me very happy actually because your idea for what they may do sounds like it would be awesome and I hope that is what we get to see and play. Anyways I really enjoy your videos Man you do an awesome job

[@JackisaMimic]

Glad you liked my videos! This prediction is based on what I think one of the primary overarching themes is for the game and that’s the cycle of violence, its futility, and the needless suffering and destruction it causes. The best way I think that could be portrayed is by having us go through an older Lands Between, with all new characters, doing the same exact dumb and violent things that break the world. Over and over again. Whatever it turns out to be, it’s gonna be one hell of an expansion pack. I have full faith in FROMSOFT and Miyazaki’s team to give us a great game!

[@user-ui3jo1um8b]

who you got in a 1v1 fight, miquella or milenia?

[@mentalwig420]

If Radagon and Mericka are on the same page then why does she call him a Leel Hound (or however you spell it) of the golden order. And say thou art not yet me.

[@JackisaMimic]

Let's break down the quote: "O Radagon, leal hound of the Golden Order. " Marika is speaking to Radagon, who is secretly her. If they are two separate entities at this time who can function independently of each other then this is a 1 on 1 conversation. Some things we don't know about this line is intention, is Marika speaking down to Radagon, is she joking with him, is there any sarcasm, is there any malice? We don't know, so I don't think we can take it literally until we know more. It could be that they are opposed to each other and she is calling him a dog for the Golden Order, or maybe it's a joke. Like, "the world thinks you are dog for the Golden Order but you and I both know whats really going on" "Thou'rt yet to become me. Thou'rt yet to become a god." This implies to me that at this time they are two separate entities AND that Radagon doesn't house the Elden Ring yet. As we learn from Enia, I think, is that to be a god is to be a "vessel for the Elden Ring's vision", but as we learn from the final boss fight, to be a god a is to be a LITERAL vessel for the Elden Ring. So, Radagon doesn't have the Elden Ring in his body, he is not a god yet. Puppetry is very important in the game, I could see a scenario where having the Elden Ring in your body makes you a puppet to the Elden Beast, and Radagon being Marika without the Elden Ring could be her way to enact a scheme without the space bug knowing. "Let us be shattered, both. Mine other self." To me, this confirms that Radagon is Marika. We already have it in game, but here confirms that from Marika's perspective that Radagon is also her. It also shows that there was a plan for the Elden Ring to be shattered, Radagon knows ahead of time this will happen, they will combine and shatter the Elden Ring. If we look at this from the "reforging" perspective I put forward, this could be confirmation that their plan is to combine, Marika will shatter, Radagon will repair. Hope that all makes sense, thanks for the comments!

[@mentalwig420]

@JackisaMimic I like the way you think. That's why I wanted to know what you thought about it. Big Cat In my mind, Ranni and / or Miquella chose to take out Godwin the Golden with the black knives because he was the strongest of them. If he hadn't been surprised by a group out of nowhere wielding Destined Death, he could have caused serious trouble for any plans. Godwin would have also made the best prince of death as well, and of course, he would be put at the trunk of the Erdtree right at its roots to help spread death faster. I had never considered the Miquella angle like this before.

[@keorinkoluexl6365]

Think of "Gloam" like how you'd pronounce Dome. Glow + Dome "Glome"-eyed queen

[@JackisaMimic]

Good to know, thank you! I might just call her the GEQ or GEQ-o though lol

[@MonkOfSalvation85]

Wut up big cat! I’m new here and I’m loving your work. We all know from soft pulls from berserk. How likely is it that Miquela is a way to portray Griffith? Pretty blonde dude that could look like a girl. Big goals. Betrayal?

[@JackisaMimic]

Griffith is definitely an influence but I think he is more firmly related to GRRMs other characters, Bran from ASOIAF. Honestly, Mohg might be more like Griffith than Miquella, with Miquella being Void lol Thanks for the comment! I’ll expand my answer further in the next Q&A!

[@a_jerry808]

What if Fia was supposed to be Saint Trina?

[@JackisaMimic]

I think Fia has a better chance being Fortissax than she does being St Trina 😉

[@stevenboelke6661]

The Gloam-eyed Queen is Melina, and Ranni is Melina too. I swear to god. Ranni is the spirit of Melina, and I'm certain the Melina we know is a figment of Miquella's dream. She's there at his direction. Ranni works for separate goals because she was only Miquella's tool and she believes (or perhaps knows) that Miquella is out of the picture.

[@bell5082]

Ranni is ranni we have her body and her story, melina is similar but not her. I hear there was cut content that the seal on Melina's eye is the mark of the waterfowl and that she had something to do with malenia and a quest there

[@nicestfilms22]

How would that be the case when Melina Is the child of Marika and Radagon, meaning she’s the empyrean sister of Miquella and Malenia. Ranni is the child of Renalla and Radagon, and the sister of Radahn and Rykard.

[@anonymousdave3404]

Literally nothing you just said is backed by anything in the game. Lol😅

[@nicestfilms22]

@@anonymousdave3404 don’t you agree with what I said tho

[@bell5082]

yes, I did say cut content. Meaning it is not canon. But it is interesting to see where they were considering going with the game@@anonymousdave3404

[@Tchutchumothafucka]

Youuuuu, allways making Videos about questions i asked my self while playing. How dare youuuu

[@JackisaMimic]

Hopefully Im giving you answers for those questions too! Also, don't be afraid to make your own videos, it's really easy and fun.