Romina Saint Of The Bud's Biggest Secret We Missed... - Elden Ring DLC Lore Theory And Speculation

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Edit: I’m sorry for the error in speaking regarding her name, I had remembered in game that being her name, only when I was making the thumbnail with everything done that I realised my error, I apologise if it takes away from the video! HELLO! I hope you're all having an amazing day! Thank you all so much for 7000 subscribers, it truly means the world to me! I really hope you do enjoy this one! Music is a mixture of :elden ring shadow of the erdtree music, hollow knight music and music from the man, the myth, the legend @alex-roe The discord for the channel: discord.gg/xv8t5bFSzd

[@marystone860]

OH! Alex Roe's music is SO GOOD! Also, don't worry, your video was WONDERFUL, like ALWAYS! NOW, I'm so excited, that my theorizing in this DLC is NOT done yet, FAR from it in fact! You're one of the very best Elden Ring KZbinr's out here, and deserve FAR more than 7,000 Subs!

[@nak3dxsnake]

To be fair she probably has a sister named Romania knowing how this word works.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@nak3dxsnake you’re not wrong 😭😂

[@zimattack9994]

Have you noticed how a lot to the bosses mirror boss from the main game but there better seem to be in the land of shadows

[@nemesisundead83]

Lol man you're probably saying her sisters name it's all good man lol

[@wqeerwqeer1375]

I'm from Romania and I'm so happy my country is finally represented in my favourite game 🥰🥰

[@theemeraldgecko310]

So happy I could represent it!

[@greenbean4422]

It annoyed me so much

[@RyleyStorm]

​@@greenbean4422 epic

[@doma7956]

@@greenbean4422 nobody asked

[@greenbean4422]

@doma7956 idk man if you say a word 50 times in a 15 minute video I sort of expect your pokemon pronunciation to at least be practiced Also I still watched the video, commented to help algo, and offered a legitimate criticism that a majority of players agreed with I'm sorry you're bothered by criticism and growth lmao- next time I'll post a mindless drone comment like "nice!"

[@garbageprince]

I wonder if Godrick's grafting and Rykard's fusing with the snake only worked because they're of Shaman lineage

[@theemeraldgecko310]

That’s what I’ve been thinking!!

[@Corazon-6]

i can do that too, im shaman lineage

[@timelineenjoyer]

bingbingbing

[@deepseafish81]

Possibly though the only thing I can think of that would be considered a bump in the road would be Godfrey was able to graft, though we don't know his lineage.

[@josephvaccariello4181]

@@theemeraldgecko310 Ya know what take it a step more. The reason why marika and miquella both have other halfs that are their own people is likely due to divinity + shaman nature. I propose that is what a true saint is to the hornsent a shaman that is 2 people in one and they were trying to make them by using the pots. Its very likely this malleable nature is also behind why outer gods could just go yup melenia is my avatar as well due to their divinity+ malleable aspect they became prime targets. Miquella always young curse is also prob caused by an unnamed force possibly a manifestation of the golden order as well the ever young never dying golden haired kid seems to reflect the golden order. The reason why the affliction is never blamed on the golden order and is just a generic curse is because to admit such a thing would be to admit the golden order is flawed at its base nature

[@AnubisG0D]

Me: Now say it with me! RO... The Emerald Gecko: RO... Me: MI... The Emerald Gecko: MI... Me: NA! The Emerald Gecko:: NA! Me: Romina! The Emerald Gecko: Romania! XD

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@AnubisG0D I’ve never gonna live this down am I?

[@JordanMullen-sx6em]

​@@theemeraldgecko310no XD

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@JordanMullen-sx6em bloody hell

[@jayden_rico]

Pls redo entire video

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@jayden_rico it isn’t that bad is it lmao

[@PoyoDesuka]

I like how the Well-Pickled Liver items associated with the Forrager Brood portray the good aspects of Rot. Namely, Fermentation.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Good catch! Rot gang on top Fr🗣️🗣️🗣️

[@aliceyagami8260]

if it is fermentation This may explain why there are so many fungi related to scarlet rot. which ironically would make scarlet rot both an enemy and ally of erdtree. taking into account the relation that plants and fungi have in real life.

[@teahousereloaded]

The hornsent ferment bodies in jars, they pickle them. Interestingly the important ingredient is Shamen. That might suggest a connection between Shamen and Rot.

[@justinroux1610]

​@@aliceyagami8260 well think about it mushrooms were the first decomposers and give trees nutrition if needed

[@hannahshark8080]

Sweet sweet fermentation

[@SibbaBerg]

I see parallells with Romina+Malenia and Mohg+Morgott, whereas one of them embraces their affliction while the other well... doesn't.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Oooo!! I hadn’t clocked this connection, but you’re completely right! Thank you for letting me know!

[@alejandrotorresriquelme8714]

One is a warrior, the other is a priest

[@klixxalot]

What if Marika actually betrayed all of the Shamans to obtain her godhood. We know she worked her way into the crucible order to take Godfrey as her consort. She needed a consort to become a god. He was leader of the crucible knights, and they were the most fierce warriors in the age of the crucible. I think she gave her sisters to the hornsent to buy favor in the age of the crucible. I have been bothered by the confession part of the Golden Braid lore, "What was her prayer? Her wish, her confession? ". Her prayer was healing(minor erdtree), her wish was to become a god, and confession is her guilt of turning over the village to be melded.

[@youraveragehotdog6836]

A lot of these theory channels over look two things about marika in this dlc, the hornscent calling her rise to godhood a betrayal, and also her "sealing away her sins in the shadow realm". I think that she worked alongside the hornscent to give her favor, after all she was empyrean so maybe they did give her a pass. But the thing that gets me is that it is possible that the tower where she rose to godhood doesn't just have hornscent bodies, because why would marika be scared to have people see that if one, getting in the shadow realm isn't easy, and two, the hornscent already know she betrayed and massacred them? I think she didn't want anyone finding out about the shaman bodies up there. But there is a possibility that the betrayal is just referring to how the shamans could've just been like holy objects to the hornscent, we never once see the hornscent speak about the shamans in a vile or nasty way, in fact they are very much used in the jar process to achieve saint hood for a reason. It is possible that the hornscent think all shaman are holy and that they're almost natural born saints, but not quite. That could be the whole reason for the process, cleansing the sins of the criminals they chopped up, and also completing a shamans ascension to saint hood. I just think that a lot of people just went straight to "marika hated the hornscent for what she did to her people." Which misses the entire point of how marika is portrayed as extremely flawed even before her rise to godhood and even saying how she lacked order, also marika is no stranger to being even worse then the hornscent sometimes.

[@DoogleGebunkers]

@@youraveragehotdog6836 yo that's a legit theory, because without being on the good side of the hornsent, and then betraying them, HOW did she manage to ever get close to her goal without being put down instantly by all of their super fearsome and holy warriors, there's no way.

[@DoogleGebunkers]

@@youraveragehotdog6836 to add to that, she must have "strumpet'ed" her way to the very top before hand, which also leads me to believe that Morgott and Mohg aren't actually Godfrey's children, he just claimed them to avoid some kind of scandal, another reason why they were sealed away instead of killed, because they were still Marika's. When we see Godfrey holding Morgott before his boss fight, he says nothing of "my son", "my child" or anything else, he simply says "it's been a long while, Morgott", and it might just be me digging deep, but it kinda makes sense.

[@youraveragehotdog6836]

@LeviKieffer that could be true however marika has several unwanted children she fathered from random people, in the walking bell churches. I would find it weird that she would give mohg and Margot any purpose at all in the kingdom if they were from other fathers, but it is entirely possible.

[@Darfail]

Yo these theories are hot guys well done

[@dt-hf8vz]

she was a normal ass human indeed. idk why but that line made me laugh so much

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Im glad you liked that dude 😂

[@AgentSapphire]

It's important to remember that, even in real life, when something rots it creates a bed from which new life can bloom. Specifically, many species of flowers need a lot of rot to happen to make the soil fertile enough to bloom. However, rot is not always safe for creatures not specifically adapted to live in and around it. Mostly insects and arachnids as well as things like fungi and mushrooms. That is why the rot is themed the way it is. Rot is a bed of life from which creatures that can thrive in it are born. I 100% agree that the rot and the bed of chaos likely draw from the same themes. It's a great catch that I didn't really think about until you pointed it out. If I might point out a detail, the scorpion and centipede attached to her sort of twist up into her body and each of those two twists end up where each leg was. Perhaps her legs rotted off and became those insects. And perhaps her arms rotted off and became... whatever they are now. Malenia was going through that process and was becoming more of a butterfly rather than a centipede/scorpion. The whole reason she's still humanoid is because her brother shoved a ton of unalloyed gold into her body to halt the process. However I must respectfully disagree that Romina is LITERALLY the outer god of rot (or housing it). Occum's Razor would suggest that she's probably the logical conclusion of what would eventually happen to Malenia if left alone for long enough or if her unalloyed gold was removed. She might be in the location she's in for a different reason since, even if the area is filled with sealing magic, she herself doesn't seem confined to the church. Normally FromSoft includes a visual metaphor if a character is sealed or confined in some way. I also think that, knowing FromSoftware, if we LITERALLY fought an outer god they would have made a much bigger fanfare of it. Especially when you look at how FromSoft treated fights with creatures adjacent to outer gods. (I'll get to Radagon and Midra in a moment) If we look at other creatures that have direct connections to the outer gods it doesn't line up properly. The Mother of Fingers was the direct daughter of an outer god and the Elden Beast was a direct creation of an outer god. Astel was a fallen star and, like the mother of fingers, is related directly to the outer gods in some way even if the game doesn't directly point out how. All of them may have some recognizable traits but are so drastically alien as a whole from any sort of conventional beauty or anatomical correctness or break physics in impossible ways that there is no debate if they are eldritch beings or not. And a boss that was literally an outer god would amplify this further. Since Romina doesn't do any of this I don't believe she is *directly* housing the god of rot. I think she is more like Midra or even Radagon to a lesser extent. Someone who has a great deal of power that has been poured into them or is otherwise housing a non insignificant chunk of an outer god's power, but is still mortal enough to exist in the lands between or the land of shadow and still be bound by the rules of the land. It is in her name. She is a *saint*. Someone who is chosen. A prophet and herald. But she isn't a literal avatar. She is, perhaps, a catalyst to the god of rot eventually trying to unseal itself. Though, to your point that Romina is a shaman, I totally would believe that. It seems like the logical conclusion to draw considering the lore as a whole. The difference in color between Romina and Malenia might be because Romina's rot is more developed. Or perhaps it's simply because different people produce the rot differently. The game doesn't give us much information on that. OH! Also, one thing you didn't mention is that Romina's music has elements of Malenia's theme in it. However it behaves more like a continuation or accompanying piece. I'm not well versed in music enough to explain the techniques used and why they produce the feelings they do, unfortunately, but I do have enough of an ear to pick it up. Romina's music was written to nod toward Malenia's in a way to elevate Malenias rather than overshadow it. Romina's theme as a whole is more fully realized but because of the way it was written it evokes the feeling that Romina's is borrowing from Malenia's rather than Malenia's borrowing Romina's (assuming we're looking at the two songs on their own, regardless of which one was actually written first). Musically this tells the story that, while Romina is fully realized as a being of rot, Malenia is intended to be above her in some way, even if she's not fully realized yet. And that wouldn't make sense if Romina is literally the god of rot. I would love to hear your thoughts on my thought process here. I probably missed some stuff but here's hoping we can build on all these theories as a community! :D

[@Spookdookin]

Good read. All I have to say is… If the game doesn’t say GOD SLAIN when you kill it…it’s probably not a god.

[@AgentSapphire]

@@Spookdookin Thank you. And yes! This is true! It's probably one of the more obvious things and I just kinda... glazed over it xD

[@qwirkt]

Malenia did become a goddess after all, Romina is just a saint… which suggests she might be some who sacrificed everything for that god, or who manages to channel that god’s power. But “saint” in From games is usually a Japanese word with a different conotation.

[@qwirkt]

Also we do have another Saint, which is Saint Trina - maybe Romina is another side or shadow of Malenia in some way, like St Trina is to Miquella?

[@AgentSapphire]

​@@qwirkt Those are good points so I double checked. the Saint in Saint Trina is more of the meaning of "pure" or "pure self" and not the religious figure. So you are correct that St Trina's name has nothing to do with religion. However Romina's full name/title in Japanese is 蕾の聖女、ロミナ(Tsubomi no seijo, Romina) which includes 聖女(seijo) which translates directly to saint. To break it down further the two kanji are 聖(Hijiri) which translates to "holy" and 女(on'na) which translates to "woman". She is explicitly a religious figure that worships the god(ess) of rot. And just to cover all my bases 蕾(Tsubomi) means bud and the character の(no) is a connecter in japanese grammar. We can also guess that Romina is older than Malenia or, at the very least, is entirely separate from Malenia since she's shown in the burning church in fully human form during Messmer's crusade (she could be glimpsed in one of the trailers with her distinct weapon). It's unlikely they're related in any way shape or form beyond them both being blessed by the god of rot. Rather, to me, it looks like Romina might be waiting for a second coming of sorts. At this point the god of rot is sealed away. She, as the leader of her church, is waiting for her god to return. And that god happens to be Malenia. Source for my thoughts on the timeline. It involves looking at the differences between the various statues of Marika (and other context clues) since we know she cut a braid off at some point in the timeline before she attacked the land of shadow: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4fFk6uAnbOKqKs I don't agree with everything in the video (you can find my comment under it as well) but the speculative timeline is extremely solid.

[@joeyc.9622]

This reminds me a lot of Nurgle from the Warhammer series. Not only is he a god of rot, but he is also a god that is surprisingly cheerful and affectionate chaos god to his "children". People may look at him and his servants with disgust, but the info we have is that most of his servants are actually happy. That came to mind as you spoke of the Rot Pests culture and how Romina seems to be in harmony with the rot and the appendages it has given her.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Is there anything else warhammer esc in Elden ring? This seemed almost identical to this story!!

[@joeyc.9622]

@@theemeraldgecko310 I am afraid that I am a Warhammer neophite and am not the best source at all. In truth, I half-expected some Warhammer fan to jump in with information that contradicted my thought, and I wouldn't have even been mad! Instead, the best I can point you to far better source I myself have depended on such as Luetin09, Scholar's Lore, and Weshammer. Among others. I want to say Weshammer specifically has videos that include just how content and even joyful the servants of Nurgle are as they serve this Lord of Pestilence. Thank you so much for the video, btw, I greatly enjoyed it.

[@GodofChaos45]

I thought this too! I love that the scarlet rot is so terrifying but yet so beautiful. Much in the same way, the nurgle followers view the decay their grandfather brings. My favorite is a quote from Mortarion, Nurgle's demon prince. "Each of your worlds will pass from this place of cold void and uncaring stars into the grandfather's embrace. I wish you could see it. It is beautiful. Full of life and potential. There are trees here and plants of amazing variety ... Here nothing truly ever ends, but is reborn and dies and over and over again. Everything here is given many gifts."

[@joeyc.9622]

@@GodofChaos45 I am just glad another person saw it!

[@nightyjae2128]

@@joeyc.9622 Local friendly warhammer nerd here! You are absolutely correct about Nurgle! the diseases are a blessing! a blessing his followers hapily take on with a promise of eternal life! Once a worshipper dies, they are reborn in Nurgle's garden of rot, to spread his blessing once more, thereby creating an never ending cycle of dying of blight and being reborn as an empty slate to spread more disease! Nurgle is also continuously making new pestilence and diseases so he can spread them to humanity through his deathguard and nurglings (little imps of disease that look just like him!) his loyal faction. So Nurgle's blessing isn't just a blessing of death and disease, but of rebirth aswel! The rot isn't the end, its a clean slate for a new beginning.

[@AshKingChannel]

Scorpion Stinger Dagger represents exactly what it is written. It's nor centipede's or scorpion's leg. Legs of these arthropods are segmented in real life and in game itself while scorpion's stinger is not. Also I don't see the point that stinger dagger looks alike centipede's and scorpion's leg at the same time. For centipede leg it bears no sense since item's title clearly says its "scorpion stinger", not "centipede leg". While scorpion legs on Romina's first part don't have two stingers, it's double claw hooks, common pattern of all scorpions.

[@nak3dxsnake]

yeah they would have to patch it pink for me to believe that

[@Greyinkling276]

That stood out to me as dumb. "this scorpions stinger shaped dagger made from a scorpion's stinger sure looks a lot like a scorpion's stinger" like yeah? And?

[@REAPER3fitty]

Thank you. This guy is reaching so hard. It's a SCORPION STINGER of course it looks like a SCORPIONS STINGER. It's not the exact same stinger Romina has.

[@Spin818]

@@REAPER3fitty he mentioned it "probably" (his words) wasn't the same stinger, he only used the item to say that the god of rot commonly assumes or projects the form of a scorpion or scorpion-like features onto it's subjects.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I never said in the video it was 100% like a centipede or scorpions leg, pretty sure I said “am I going crazy or does this look like etc”, you’ve also missed the point of me saying that entirely, I was making a connection between both of the designs.

[@fallatiuso]

Y'know. The reasons the scarlet rot might be bad could only be because Malenia is fighting and suppressing it, causing it to corrupt and rot, embodying only its worst parts due to her rejection. Meanwhile Romina embraced it, in all it aspects, which made it more benign, embodying its true nature. Even her butterflies all look healthy, compared to Malenias having grey and withered ones.

[@candideoptimism8775]

name- Romina pronunciation- Romaneia

[@Minethencraft554]

So many people that make lore videos can't even pronounce the names right. Even when they say it in game they still mess it up.

[@5chneemensch138]

@@Minethencraft554 Probably comment bait for YT algo.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@candideoptimism8775 I did not know, silly mistake on my part I’m sorry

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@5chneemensch138 it really isn’t, if you want to believe that then you’re totally entitled to, but I would never do that

[@candideoptimism8775]

@@theemeraldgecko310 cheers!

[@Midnitethorn]

I will always be sad that we can't get an Age of Rot ending. It was the most fascinating part of the lore for me. I never thought of Romina as a shamen because I doubted Marika would want to hurt another shamen....but it adds so many (tragic) layers if Romina didnt joint with Messmer/Marika and treated hornsent in her church and therefore was considered an enemy of the Golden Order. I really enjoy your takes!

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I won't lie, until this comment I had not even thought of the possibility of a rot ending, but now I'm big time craving it OOOOO I really like this addition to the theory, I hadn't thought or figured out the reasoning of why she possibly betrayed Marika, but this honestly makes SO much sense! I love it dude, awesome stuff! Thank you so much!

[@donovan4222]

In the belurat Gaol, there’s an item description that talks about how some shamans would pray to the jars so that they would be reborn into saints…so I think that implies that some shamans may of been kind of brainwashed into the Hornsent religion to the point where they would stand choose the Hornsent over Marika.

[@shiroamakusa8075]

@@donovan4222 Mistranslation. The shamans of the gaols and Marika's people are referred to with different terms in the original Japanese.

[@donovan4222]

@@shiroamakusa8075 That also makes sense, I know Marika’s “shamans” were more accurately translated to “shrine maidens” so the belurat Gaol “shamans” I’m guessing is a different word. I still think Marika may of betrayed her own people though.

[@IrisDImtv]

I just realized that both the "Saint" we see have heads linked to flower shapes

[@theemeraldgecko310]

HOLY SHIT, you’re right!

[@SMLL-crow]

Those who live in death Those who live in decay Reminds me that st.trina is a legit flower bearing/holding a bud/fruit (produces nectar) and has her own living rotting knight

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@SMLL-crow interesting connection! I actually really love the idea st Trina has connections to all this!!

[@SMLL-crow]

@@theemeraldgecko310 big st.trina fan also, it's not often said but st.trina would be malenia's twin sister so having a flower, blossom, poisonous nectar/rot theme isn't too wild a theory.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@SMLL-crow wait holy shit you’re right, they would be twins!! I hadn’t seen the similarities before but they BOTH quite literally have blooms of their own afflictions/powers!

[@SMLL-crow]

@@theemeraldgecko310 agreed, st.trina is maybe (theory time!) "cursed" with eternal slumber.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@SMLL-crow can definitely see that being the case! I wonder if like Malenia at one point in time her affliction wasn’t as bad, she seems to have developed a whole ass cult, don’t know if she’d be able to do that if she was asleep the whole time 😂

[@kurenian]

Bugs in fromsoft games have always had a sort of vibe as a trait of an alternative, stagnant form of life. Whether Quelaag and the crag spiders, the immortality centipedes in Sekiro, the maggots and insects of the deep in DS3, the idea of stagnant water = bugs is a common trend.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

This had totally skipped my mind but you’re so right dude!! Awesome catch!

[@kurenian]

@@theemeraldgecko310 Allegedly it's a theme in Buddhist spirituality. I'm not Buddhist myself so I can't confirm but yeah. Zullie the Witch and SmoughTown touch on the idea in some of their analyses, I believe.

[@elijahford3696]

Rot is precisely that. Life, overflowing and abundant, though something must give to allow it.

[@luisramirez-or5vg]

Out of ALOT of the dark souls lore channels, major ones too, this might be the first video I've seen that focuses on this character and it's lore

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I hope it was a first good one? I know a lot of people seem to be pissed off by this video :)

[@sieghardtofcatarina7827]

A thing that goes against your theory of Romina being a shaman is the fact that the Church of the Bud architecture is identical to Enir Illim's, and in the altar behind, near the three, you can find mummified hornsent monks.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I hadn’t noticed that! But this plays into the theory Romina betrayed Marika!

[@Zach-qo1on]

I think the Rot represents that death can create life itself. Hence why in areas with scarlet rot you’ll always see buds and look like flowers getting ready to bloom. just a mix match of life thriving in decomposition

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@Zach-qo1on exactly! There really is such a beauty in it, and to an extent it also exists in our world!

[@SMLL-crow]

@@Zach-qo1on death already supports life, those who live in death. Rot is parallel to nascence but in the opposite direction(not actually oppossing), they are suspended between.

[@Zach-qo1on]

⁠@@SMLL-crow true, but Rot clearly has more of a common theme than we see throughout nature and the universe itself irl. Death comes life. Those who live in death and “death” itself is weird in the world of Elden ring but my idea of rot can be used in Those who live in death as well.

[@SMLL-crow]

Agreed, once death = life in the tlb, everything is hard to place, like godwyns cadaver having aspects of the crucible IN DEATH (he got fins and a tail now), even though it's described as primordial life.

[@trannguyen-mondayoffjcial]

I think at Marika's time before the crusade, there were like different religions, people worshipping different outer gods, Marika believed in the Greater Will, Romina in the Scarlet Rot, that is why the gods chose them as their representatives in the Lands Between, and as similar as real life religions, there were conflicts against each other, so Marika told Messmer to lead a crusade to purge the other religions that were different from hers, the Gloamed Eye Queen could have been the counterpart of Marika at that time, they both liked 2 biggest different aspects of the same religion, Marika the life part (golden), and the Gloamed Eye Queen the death part (dusk), then Marika wanted to completely rid the other death part out of the religion she now believes in so she had Maliketh defeat the Gloamed Eye Queen too hence the Golden Order was born, Messmer and Melina could have been the results of her turning into Radagon or something and having children with the Gloamed Eye Queen, which could have very likely been a Snake. Then later her first 2 children, Messmer and Melina (both emperyan because Marika and the Gloamed Eye Queen both were emperyans themselves) started to show signs of curses, Messmer the abyssal serpent, and Melina maybe destined death, so Marika saw those, her first children and her past as a Shadow which needed to be sealed away, then she sealed them after defeating the Gloamed Eye Queen and creating the new Golden Order, one without death (her new life), but all of her children born after that, bore a curse, except for Godwyn. Those are my speculations, peace!

[@richardjamesIII]

My man in the dlc with +6 flasks. Somebody is a masochist 😆

[@theemeraldgecko310]

You know it my guy 😍

[@justsomejerseydevilwithint4606]

Ah yes, Romania, my favorite boas fight.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

My favourite too 😭😂

[@theticksquad8218]

"Revived H.P Lovecraft" Astel, Fallingstar Beasts, Metyr, and Midra: "Am i a joke to you?"

[@SophieBot5000]

Love all the different creative pronunciations of romina

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Glad you liked it 😂

[@oliverp3545]

Only thing against this theory is the fact that there's several scorpion talismans that boost certain types of damage but not scarlet rot.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Interesting! Maybe they’re just a different species of scorpion though?

[@OscarTheStrategist]

Glad you finally got around to making the video man! I definitely just smoked this character without thinking much about it. Will replay, awesome breakdown. BTW the Mary Jane reference was 🔥

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thank you so much!! Same here to be honest I wish I had fought her at a lower skidmark tree blessing! Glad you liked it lol

[@SerPodrick]

the difference between this and VatiVidya is that Vati uses in game item descriptions and dialogue to inform every point he makes. This is mostly conjecture to fit a forced narrative

[@mgiacmierhns8755]

you're right, but there's pretty much no information on romina. Besides her 2 remembrance weapons and her remembrance, there's very little, if at all.

[@Greyinkling276]

What I really like about this video is how this guy talks as if he hasn't ever read item descriptions and the thing he's saying is a mystery and then his big reveal is that he finally read an item's description and learned lore everyone already knew but it all "makes sense" to him now.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Fromsoftwares story telling isn’t just through item descriptions, they do a lot of environmental storytelling, not everything is told to the player through items.

[@jonathangonzalez9673]

as if vati doesnt speculates...a lot, not to mention he waits so much to realese a video because he waits for everybody else so he can pick and choose what they got right vs what he got wrong. been doing it since dark souls 1 issue is back then not a lot of people would to lore videos

[@TheRealJohnux]

​@@theemeraldgecko310thanks for pointing that out, though Whenever I bring up that Miquella is a secret co conspirator in Rannis plot to assassinate Godwyn, nobody believes it, even though there is enough evidence to Support that claim.

[@fnorazril]

I think the feature that strikes me most about Romina is that the point where scorpion and centipede intersect on her midrift is a twisting pattern. A spiral. And we all know how much the spiral motif has a big impact on the architecture and lore of this particular DLC. The Scadutree, The Crucible, The Great Tree. It's an interlinked harmony of both sides in balance with each other. Also makes me think of a helix of DNA, the building blocks of life. Which kinda makes sense that if you strip away one side of the spiral, the whole thing collapses into disarray. Dying and in so dying rotting away. Only from rot comes a whole host of new life. Just some rambling thoughts bouncing around in my gourd.

[@GinZura]

So real I also thought she was kinda underwhelming at first but I came to love her the fight and the lore is amazing

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Same!! I’ve come to love her so much!

[@Nezghoul92]

The Scarlet Bud item description insinuates that the Church of the Bud was not infected with Scarlet Rot prior to Messmer's crusade. "A large, rotten bud that will never come into bloom. Material used for crafting items. Grows in lands blighted by the scarlet rot. There was a time when these buds were not touched by the scarlet rot's blight-when they were the symbol of the small church deep in the ancient ruins of Rauh." I believe, like the case of some of the other Outer Gods (primary example in the DLC being the Bloodfiends) that worship of the Outer Gods stems from immense suffering. Another odd bit with the timeline is that the Church of the Bud is located within the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, not Belurat Tower Settlement/Enir-Ilim. The Antiquity Scholar's Cookbook states in it's item description "A record of crafting techniques left by the hornsent academics who studied the ancient ruins of Rauh. Details techniques for working with sprites thought lost to antiquity." I take this as evidence that the people of the Ruins of Rauh are long gone. The ruins pre-date the Hornsent or were the progenitors of the Hornsent culture/people. Messmer's crusade, I assume, happens post people of Rauh. Which again, is odd, considering that we must go through the ruins to use Messmer's flame to then dispel the shadow aura of Enir-ilim. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that the lore is damned confusing and the timeline breaks my brain. Good day.

[@FlyingBystander]

It turns out a small amount of people who are subscribed are subscribed.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I hoped no one would catch this lmao, I only saw it way after the video was out 😂

[@jaysuede2627]

A significant pattern of Elden Ring has also been a that of people having their prayers answered, of calling out into the void and being answered by beings you'd best not be bothering. Even the most structured and benign of them can only be trusted to act in their own overbearing, alien interests - a horrible truth even Marika had to discover.

[@ulternativegaming]

Bro if they made the Elden ring lore into a tv series I would be so happy

[@theemeraldgecko310]

God SAME

[@christiangutinew9910]

Im not sure about your final conclusions, but it offers a different perspective involving the outer rot god. Something else to consider when melenia used her scarlet rot attack on rahdan, she had the intent to kill. Possibly altering the rot and transforming it into her own rot; one that kills and has no sympathy.

[@r3gret2079]

The scorpion and centipede are such perfect fits for the scarlett rot. 2 of the most venomous and dangerous creatures on earth, twisted together along with Romina. That is too damn cool. The rot is its own sort of poison but on super crack. So, the addition of these 2 creatures fits the esthetic great.

[@barfrost007]

Don't recall regarding scorpions, but centipedes in Elden Ring are considered to have a close association with death (a la the Golden Centipede and Cursemark of Death items). If scorpions have some link to life or the Crucible or somesuch, her having both might be a metaphor for rot/rebirth.

[@Jopadi]

Roh-meen-uh, or Rah-min-uh. Not sure where the extra letter and syllable is coming from. 😂

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I’m really sorry, it was totally unintentional, I double checked the video to make sure it didn’t have any mistakes, only to miss the biggest one. Truthfully, does it ruin the video?

[@OrlanonXbox]

Not at all bro. Most of the players don’t know half the bosses names.

[@OrlanonXbox]

@@theemeraldgecko310

[@ericjensen7580]

Ah, Rohmeenuh, or some say Rahminuh. Do you hear our prayers? No, we shall not abandon the church

[@candideoptimism8775]

@@theemeraldgecko310 it doesn’t ruin the vid!

[@usagipoutine]

My theory is that the scarlet rot is in fact a fasten cycle of death and rebirth. Butterflies and flowers have a short lifespan and rapidly reproduce to make other of their kind before rotting away.

[@NickCombs]

I support your interpetation of scarlet rot. Although it does hurt the player, there are clearly beings who have adapted to it, usually with a transformation. We also see that with the fly guys who were presumably just sick people before they metamorphosed and are now sad sometimes but not dying. That's how poisons work in nature, with many creatures evolving to gain an advantage by immunity to the defenses of plants or other animals. Clownfish and anemones, for example.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I mean when our screen goes black it’s not always the cause of death, I mean take the “heart stolen” for example, maybe scarlet rot is similar, I could be reaching! Alternatively, maybe the powers of grace mix with the scarlet rot effecting us like with Malenia?

[@NickCombs]

Yeah it's more like "mission failed (this life)" Our mission to become Elden Lord can't happen if we're charmed by Miqqy, so it makes sense to me. I would've liked an Age of Scarlet ending though!

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@NickCombs yeah! God that would have been so cool! Imagine Miquella’s charm gets broken in the dlc and we could go chat to Malenia and have an ending/quest with her AND LIKE SHE CAN MEET MILICENT AND STUFF

[@benjaminotalora363]

I 100% agree that the rot is an aspect of life. I think what happened was rot used to be the domain of a good outer god, or at least one that cared about maintaining balance in the world as the verdigris talisman seems to hint. Verdigris is a form of rust that actually acts as a protective layer for copper, and helps to preserve it in the long run. I think at some point this outer god left or was overtaken by the scarlet outer god that the blue dancer went on to lock away. At least I think that's the case because I would find it very odd that the blue dancer would even know how to battle the rot without having been aware of it prior to its rising to power enough to create a whole lake of rot.

[@epiccthulu]

I have thought that since Marika is a Shaman, she would “blend” with a god she defeated and then give birth to a demigod containing a bulk of that god’s power.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

That would have been cool to be fair!

[@edgebringr3494]

The dragonflies, the big ones have stingers, wings and their front give a similiar look. The bigger they are, the closer they look like her…

[@mrpalmero1]

I remember I found a pink butterfly on the way to Malenia (near Millicent's fight) and I thought "no way this is here for no reason"

[@Solibrae]

I like the comparison of the "Children of the Scarlet Rot" to the Chaos Demons from Dark Souls. Romina is obviously the most recent incarnation of "Bug Lady", following Chaos Witch Quelaag and Scorpioness Najka, at least! There's a lot of similarities between the Order of the Erdtree and the Order of Rot too. Romina being a Shaman that was allied with the Hornsent seems a little unusual but is possible and explains why she could seemingly merge with an aspect of the Scarlet Rot so successfully.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I’m glad you liked it! Fromsoftware has done this sort of thing before, but it’s different enough to still be very interesting!! Something I saw someone say in the comments, is maybe she cared for Hornsent in her church kind of the like the perfumers of old… wait holy shit

[@Solibrae]

@@theemeraldgecko310 That's an interesting thought, I can see that being true! Perhaps her relationship with the Scarlet Rot Buds was originally akin to Perfurmers and Miranda Flowers?

[@Doobiesnacks007]

Love the content bro keep it up!! 💯

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thank you so much dude this means the world to me!!

[@moth._.]

I loved the in depth look into Romania, your theory helps explain a lot. And I laughed near the end when you were aesthetically walking on the platform of the rot lake and fell in 🤣🤍

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thank you so much! Glad you liked it!

[@Graff-z4x]

Awesome video, subscribed, love finding new actually good lore-ists. I'm very happy you mentioned Romina as a shaman. I believe we can see a naming convention going on. Romina, marika, radagon, nanaya. 3 syllables, alternating consonant and vowel. If radagon isn't the erdbeast manifest against marika, then it was another shaman that melded with marika, only awakening much later. Nanaya's baby-spine melded very easily..ithink..with the frenzied head orb thingy. Romina survived the melding with other life when she bloomed. Which also explains Malenia and Miquella's unique abilities as "purebred" shaman... ahem... "Saint" Trina is a flower too 😅 gods i love this game

[@GeneralSama22]

Definitely agree that Romonia is Shamen.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Glad you agree! I'm honestly 100% convinced she is!

[@marystone860]

YUP! I was going to say THAT very thing!

[@desgyulabalogh3429]

ye that makes 100% sense! woman, no horns, fuses with bugs after getting burned. What happens when you get burned? your flesh is exposed is what, and shaman flesh Melds Harmoniously, If Godwin could turn into a zombie fishroot Romania can turn into a half man half flower half centipede half scorpion thing. I dont think she fused with the actual rot god tho, i think the body of the Rot god is sealed under the Lake of Rot, and the stupid amount of dead bodies that were washed down into the lake of rot from nokron and nokstella weakened the seal and now theres rot there.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@marystone860 I’m glad you think so too!!

[@zackdoom]

As well as st trina She is a saint after all Maybe saint trinas pot had certain flowers in it

[@incineakechi5197]

I was gonna comment on saying "Romania" but seeing how negative people are talking about it, i wanted to say it was funny and didnt make the viewing experience any worse. Glad to see Romina getting some love in the lore talks

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate that, yeah it was a silly mistake but some people are acting like I just started world war 3 lmaoo

[@GamingonFiction]

And think about the centipede’s use in Sekiro. Those infected with one also had endless life. Corrupted endless life.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Great point!!

[@ensomniac]

Really appreciate the content but holy god every time you call her Romania all I could think about is how you did all this work but couldn’t be bothered to notice that her name is Romina

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@ensomniac I’m very sorry! it wasn’t that I couldn’t be bothered… I had just remembered that being the name while fighting her, I only realised later on and by then it was too late

[@daydreamer2257]

One interessting detail with the color difference betwen Romania and Melaina's rot is, that the underground lake of rot in the base game (wich is likely older than Milania's first bloom, and where the Rot god is liekly sealed) is also closer to pink, wich mans pink is most likely the actual rot god color, not the orange we are familiar with. That also points to Romania getting her power from the sealed rot god diretly in some way.

[@LemonTR_]

I wish we could fight outer gods, but it doesn’t seem its in the cards

[@varsoonhks3211]

@@LemonTR_ "I wish I could do battle with the concept of Nature" It's wild that people can play this whole game and fail to grapple with the fact these 'Gods' are not singular entities. I guess if you don't have any exposure to animism, maybe?

[@rafsandomierz5313]

@@LemonTR_ I mean you got to fight astels and Elden beast.

[@LemonTR_]

@@rafsandomierz5313 fair

[@LemonTR_]

@@varsoonhks3211 what a loser, you literally kill an outer god in the game- its the final boss. Id just like to kill more of em

[@bong-y7o]

what is the red bubble in the first clip, is that one of the new dlc physics?

[@gregwise5655]

The ROT is like another world invading the Lands Between

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I haven’t seen this comparison made but I totally agree!

[@House_of_Green]

Ok this proves their were shaman absolutely fine with the pot life when you couple this with the new pot helmet description.

[@FTZPLTC]

The shaman/pot thing comes across like they're trying to make saints by martyring them. Interesting concept.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

It really is!!

[@PabloGonzalez-bc2xj]

Well actually Scarlet Rot created life such as Millicent in The base game ! Btw great video!!

[@theemeraldgecko310]

This is a great point I stupidly overlooked, you’re right!! Thanks so much!

[@johncrondis4563]

Sick vid Gecko Jar-Saints - Shamans - Numen - Melding - Saint Romina of the Bud - Saint Trina is a Flower - Poison and Purple with St Trina - Rot and Magenta with Romina - Forager Brood - Moore - Verdigris Gift from Outer God (of Rot) - Verdigris Helmet with symbol of Destined Death Ruin - Verdigris is the same as Caledon - Godskin Stitcher is described to have Caledon on it (green blue) - Centipede Scorpion - Mending Rune of Death and Deathblight related to Centipede - Basilisks cannot get rot (in the rot lake they are unaffected) - Beasts cannot get rot (beast blood) and are in deathblight or TWLID on Farum - Purebloods of the Formless Mother cannot rot - Inuba the BloodyFinger seeks "death" and is at Spiritcaller cave with Godskins - Formless Mother Relating to Godskins here - Obsidian Lamina of Ansbach - Obsidian Stone for Godslaying Seal - Obsidian Lamina has "SicklePlay" Dancelike AoW and is decribed as "weaving blossoms" - realting to Dancers, Godskins (sickle and weaving) and Flowers (rot and poison) - Flower symbols on ground in Dancing Lion arena - Crucible, Hornsent, Dancing and Flowers were connected - Blue dancer taught Malenia - Dancers related to Tanith/House Marai - Malenia worshipped at Shaded Castle - Dancers were completely "unseductive" as the Dancers Castenet says - Marika did some seducing - Dominula village has Matriarch of Dancers - Relates to godskins, skinning flesh, and Shaman village - Central role of Dominula are the "harvesters" that dance with flowers on head and Blue Cape - Dancers can bite themselves and spew blood that causes hemorrhage - Rakshasa Great Katana looks similar to Rivers of Blood and has AoW called "Weed Cutter" - Connection between Reed landers, Blood, "the harvest" - Formless Mother maybe relates to the Grandmother - Empyrean leave the GW/2 finger by discarding "physical flesh" and Miquella entered Shadowlands via Formless Mother/Mohg - Formless Mother Beckons the Omen/Horned beings - Rot, Hornsent, Dancers, Flowers, Formless Mother, and Godskins/DD have many ties - Festive Grease, Flowers, Shaman Village, Dominula Village Celebrants with same effect as Festive Grease, Jarburg being a redemption to Shaman Village - Jarburgs Relation to Hoslows and "the Petal Whip" (flowers, blood loss, snakes/volcano manor) - Connecting Blood with Snakes and Godskins - Daedacars Woe flayed - Shabriris Woe no eyes - bloodstar/formless mother - Silurias Woe - Crucible/hornsent -

[@araibirshad8294]

I had to scratch my brains for a few seconds to understand what you meant by Saint of the Mary Jane

[@rueben225]

I took the description on the dagger to mean it was made from the shed exoskeleton of an outer god, because scorpions shed their exoskeleton when they grow, stinger and all. That would make it a "relic" if it was the only part to survive the molting or whatever happened to the rest of the shed. It would make a lot of sense in the theme of the rot being associated with invertebrates that molt like scorpions, spiders, and prawns, and insects that undergo metamorphosis, like butterflies. It's not death, it's actually growth and change. I digress

[@justblaze7907]

I’m 100% on board with Romnia being a shaman definitely with her title “Saint of the Bud” and the end goal of the jars was to make “saints” out of the shaman by blending flesh in said jars and Romnia just so happens to clearly be several beings fused together

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I’m glad! I honestly am 100% convinced she is a shaman! It just makes so much sense!

[@Travar1410]

I've been co-op helping in all areas for the last few days. She's been one of the bosses I've seen people have a tough time on. She's like, top 3 weirdly. Scadutree,radahn, and her. She's really cool looking and i enjoy her fight.

[@TenpennyTower]

You’re good Brodie this channel is gonna pop I know it when I see it

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Cheers! Thank you, this comment absolutely means the bloody world to me 💚

[@TenpennyTower]

@@theemeraldgecko310 just spreading truth brother keep up the great work

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@TenpennyTower still, it truly means more than you could ever know, thanks dude!

[@endlsxp]

My idea of Romina ( and some of the shamans as a whole) is that they were like priestesses for the hornsent scattered across the land and when the betrayal of their ppl happened marika was one of the only ones close enough to know they were being taken and when messmers crusade happens Romina knew nothing and was burned with the rest.

[@zackdoom]

Loved fighting saint of the ganja

[@theemeraldgecko310]

God same 😂

[@chloemitchell1557]

Her weapon also reminded me of Loretta’s War Sickle the moment I saw it

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Same! I believe it’s even got the same move set? Maybe there’s a connection here!

[@MrMETAL2203]

The Twisting could also be from the aspects of the crucible, like the re-occurring theme of two twisting trees to make one combined tree

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I hadn’t considered this but you’re right! I think you might be onto something!

[@KurtacusRex]

Romania's torso is also a scadutree spiral. I suspect that dates her to pre-erdtree

[@theemeraldgecko310]

HOLY SHITTTT! I hadn’t clocked this, thank you for letting me know!

[@jahdielvalentin4996]

I think you’re right that she’s Numen. I believe each of the Hornsent holy sanctums /lands had a Shaman/Priestess. If Romina was the Shaman of Ruah, Marika was the Shaman of Bellurat. I’ve been wondering since beating the game what Rominas connection was to the Shamans and when you showed she may have been a Shaman herself based on her character model it all clicked. Great theory

[@koji_wada8390]

We need her armour. It’s shit how it isn’t a thing

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I hadn’t even thought of this BUT YOU’RE RIGHT

[@TheodoricFriede]

It is interesting that the rot in the base game is so incredibly sinister, whereas the rot on the dlc seems almost gentle and beautiful. I mean, there are literary friendly kindred in the dlc. Apparently they made delicious fermented foods. Maybe rejecting the scarlett rot was actually the wrong thing for Malenia to do. Maybe if she embraced it, it would merely just be part of the cycle of life. Maybe Miquella is the reason she rejected it at all.

[@OuterRimPride]

Idk, Romina is still alive in the trailer, so the purge must not have targeted her, right? Look at her cape. Is it possible that she was actually on Messmer’s side but is kneeling in a state of deep regret at her part in the massacre? His soldiers stand behind her with casual poses as she is still armed and living, with her back turned, suggesting they’re not fighting, and maybe even that she’s their leader of some sort. And of course, she’s a Numen who maybe wouldn’t have been targeted by Marika anyway.

[@CHODEmufFins15]

It would be awesome if the scarlet rot was actually the cure to Mikala’s curse. Maybe he never ages cause he regenerates quickly, the rot would stifle that, allowing him to age. Would be cool.

[@jardeSki]

This video got me thinking that rot is part of the primordial crucible or what’s left of it. Because Marika shaped the elden ring she also limited the rots ability to create life so instead of creating life it takes it away hints why in the land of shadow it seems to function differently and create an actual impressive rotten creature

[@kaj413]

Interesting pull, Lovecraft, what you are more than likely seeing is the George R.R. Martin bits coming through as he is very influenced by the Lovecraft and Cthulhu mythos. If you are wanting to see this influence, the Atlas of the World of Ice and Fire was written in collab and using Martin's notes and is thick with references to that Mythos. The TV show removed what was in the books in order to streamline it for a broader audience.

[@Sooxzay]

This reminds me of the "Colour out of Space" from H.P. Lovecraft. Its eerily similar at least like from the movie with Nicholas Cage. A glowing pink/red.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I haven’t read that one! I’ll definitely check it out!

[@Blockvard]

When you look att the theme of conjoining that we see in the tower's statues etc., you can look at Romina you can see the Scorpion associated with the scorpion's rot (and Malenia) and the centipede is a representation of Miquella and the fundamentals. The pink hue is a also a mix of the scarlet and the light of Miquella shown by the scarlet bud. They were never touched when representing the church, and buds and butterflies are seen as symbols and sprouts from blood of the demigods. The balance between rot and the crucible of life in Rauh where irreparably broken with the burning from the Erdtree and she made something twisted from the essence of the god with the inspiration: a bud that would never blossom and is forever decaying at the church. Now Malenia & Miquella's curse 🌹

[@lightvalhalla]

I like the mantis lords theme from HK in the background 😂

[@Sonstbenannt]

Very good take!

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thank you so much!!

[@sterlinggibson6143]

The rot is actually the opposite of life (well, kinda), it is death and decay. It is stagnation while the water is the movement and flow of new life. Just like a lot of other imagery and themes in the game the rot and the water are two sides of the same concept: water is life, rot is death. Water is growth, rot is decay. The water shapes new life while the rot clears the old and makes way for the new. They are necessary opposites. The problem is that death has been removed from the world so the blessing of rot has become a curse.

[@albyx]

One interesting theory I got to thinking about was with regard to Shamans, fusing, Saints, and Outer Gods. If you look at Romania’s lower abdomen, she clearly fused with the symbols of the Outer God of Rot. Could St. Trina also be a Shaman that fused with the God of Sleep? Before having become one with Miquella?

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I hadn’t thought of it like this, but honestly I love this idea, it’s hard to say for definite but I really like this theory!

[@firelightning5018]

1:54 on that part of the DLC trailer, you can hear Romina theme.

[@zettor47]

Was a lot of noise here when you said that you believe the scarlet rot is life, and I heard love 😂

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I'm sorry!!!

[@tropezando]

Live, laugh, love 🦂

[@ABurntMuffin]

scarlet rot is not of a god of death, it is of a god of unwanted life. it is the very essence of festering alone, except they're not alone. they stick together, they expand, they grow, some things die, true, but in it's wake is more life.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

You make a great point! Thank you so much for bringing this up, it’s awesome!

[@thorn.fieldnsta]

"Saint of the MJ" 😭 born on 420 BE (before ErdTree)

[@theemeraldgecko310]

She's been on the bud too long, so long she's now a saint of it 😭🙏

[@thorn.fieldnsta]

​@@theemeraldgecko310 maybe it's time for her to hit the bong atop of the church 🪦 more seriously, we know the Blind Swordman was guided by a blue FAIRY and we do have fairy/sprites lore on the dlc especially at Rauh

[@Elderester]

from back when a dimebag costed a dime 😭

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@thorn.fieldnsta For real dude, she needs to hit that bong looking at that gorgeous shadowy divine gate That's super interesting! The lore I've talked about on the channel has been from items and stuff I've found so far, I don't think I've got the items that mention that!!! Where about do you find where it talks about that if you don't mind me asking!

[@bazookaace]

BE is fire

[@mgiacmierhns8755]

maybe romina is not a numen, but a being that came out of the jars ?

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I’m not 100% convinced on this, but I really do like this theory!!

[@reigoj8228]

fromsoft went with three layers of spiritualism and three stages of time so here is a neat bit you get from that: The three layers of spiritualism summarised goes: realm of gods, heaven. Stars and moons. realm of spirites, earth. Lands between. realm of dead, underworld. The shadow realm. And the three stages of time goes: Progression. Stars and moons, law of causality. Stagnation. Rot, immortality and life. Regression. Fire and death, law of regression. You can likely dig out more fitting ones. Rot's role is to represent the stagnation in the world, nothing advances, everything is build upon how it is rather than how it could or should or would be. And Romina is perfect example of stagnation. For eternity, she just stayed there, accepting the kindred and protecting the tree that keeps everything as it is.

[@Lilbird2fye]

I just realized miquella is controlling rahdan. How? We’ll just think in the boss fight miquella hugs us and we are converted to him… he was hugging rahdan the whole time in the second phase of the boss fight. N he comes out when rahdan soul returns i guess. Maybe rahdan wouldn’t have fought us if miquella didn’t hug him

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I saw a theory that Radahn as he turned red was breaking free, this would fit into you’re theory as right after that Miquella hugs him…

[@Deca777-g3o]

First the fact that their incantation are faith base are more a fact that the kindred are fanatics and two, the hornsent are also fanatics, they are the true culprits of everthing in the game

[@love_life_leafeon5955]

It's because she has no intro cutscene, that's why people complained

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I do get that point!!

[@sanfera5644]

I have a different suggestion. Just like Mogh becoming the lord of blood while connected with primordial crucible as an omen, why not Romina is also the same? Maybe she had a connection with primordial crucible AND she was chosen as an avatar of the scarlet rot. Like how mogh was chosen. So, Romina, over time, embraced more and more of her powers until she changed a lot. Her form, attacks and its movements doesn't seem like a combination of grafts. They seem more like, natural growths. Something she slowly got accustomed to. She grows wings like Mogh does. She has three forms of life that are harmoniously blending. A centipede, a scorpion, and a butterfly. Along with the flowers around her head. It is almost like, Romina is manifesting parts of scarlet rot just like how an omen grows horns. But unlike horns, Romina manifests scarlet rot aspects. About why people fear scarlet rot is, most likely, the creative force of scarlet rot first destroys the previous to build something. Scarlet rot changes all life in a manner far stronger than many other connections. Formless mother wants us to bleed. Frenzied flame wants us to abandon flesh. Ghostflame fuels from death. Erdtree grows trees on people like tree guardians. But scarlet rot? It kills before it remakes. So people are afraid of it naturally.

[@hugoguzman4985]

What's that spin/jump attack you're using against the Servants of Rot with Milady?

[@theemeraldgecko310]

It’s the new scarlet rot ash of war! I think it’s called “the scarlet blooms again” or something like that!

[@pntbttrcrckr831]

Rot is meant to be the opposing force to stagnation, it’s overflowing life growing on top of itself constantly as opposed to a rotting unmoving corpse like godwyn.

[@AlexMartin-yv1lb]

My theory is that Romina was an empyrean. We can presume she was a shaman/numen. We also know that the story of the lands between is the story of Marika’s rise to power. Perhaps Romina was an empyrean and vessel for the Scarlett rot the same way malenia was (except her “bloom” culminated in a scorpion form as opposed to a butterfly) which is why her church was burned down by Mesmer. As for the centipede portion of her body, centipedes are tied to the golden order, but most of them are found in what would be considered “heretical” sites. The lake of rot, the minor erdtree afflicted by death root, etc. Perhaps Romina and her church are the cause of all this. The original heretic to yield the appearance of centipedes before their banishment to the land of shadows. We know the current age in the lands between has three empyreans with Ranni, Malenia, and Miquella. Maybe this is commonplace, and before Marika’s rise, there was her, the gloam eyed queen, and Romina

[@Miner49er201]

Interestingly, Romina’s design gives me a thought as to how the Scarlet Rot affected Malenia; Poison Jars are a type of alchemical experiment where you seal multiple poisonous and venomous creatures (mostly insects, frogs, arachnids, etc) into a single vessel, and let them kill each other - the one that emerges will be the most toxic, venomous, and dangerous creature of that mixture. Looking at Romina’s design, she’s made up of a scorpion, centipede, butterfly, and hornet (given the stinger on her underside), three of which are venomous creatures, while the butterfly is representative of the Scarlet Rot itself. She is the result of a poison jar, all the venom uniting into a single deadly creature, but in harmony with itself and allowed to grow. Malenia, on the other hand, is like a poison jar that has been forcibly sealed shut via the Unalloyed Gold Needle. She doesn’t allow that poison to be part of her, or otherwise be let out - it just sits inside of her, building up, becoming more noxious and corrosive the longer it’s sealed away, to the point where her tolerance for it has been overcome by its corrosive nature, and the toxin is literally eating away at its container. Comparing these two, it feels as though the Scarlet Rot is a wrathful aspect of nature; those that allow it to flourish find a place in the world, but denying it only allows its roots to dig through you in the dark.

[@vengefulmonkgaming411]

I think you almost had the right analogy.. but I think it needs to be approached from a more medical standpoint. When transfusing blood, there is always the chance that the body will reject it. It's about compatibility and faith, as to what fate the inflicted suffers.. Malenia was born with the boon of the Rot Goddess, so she has SOME compatibility, but it still eats away at her flesh, however, she still maintains her mind. I think it eats away at her flesh because she rejects the rot itself, because when she goes into phase 2, her lost limbs are replaced with rotten limbs, and she grows wings of frayed flesh. This moment shows her accepting the power of the rot as a means to overcome. Whereas Radahn had no compatibility with the Rot, but due to his outstanding Vigor, he was physically able to resist the rot, meanwhile his mind was rotted away, leaving him a bloodthirsty corpse wandering the last battlefield he fought on. It could be said that Radahn died to Malenia, in a way. Meanwhile, the Cleanrot knights are SLOWLY starting to mutate into Kindred of Rot, as can be seen the wings protruding from the flanks of their armor. The Cleanrots have faith in Malenia as a proxy to the Goddess of Rot. Meanwhile, the Kindred themselves worship Rot itself, and have fully take an insectoid form. Then there's Romina, who not only worships rot, but the Goddess of Rot herself. I also don't think she was a Numen, as she would have been in a gaol if that were the case, and her arena is potentially "guarded" by the stronger variant of the Divine Lion Dancer (the one with Death Blight). I think she was a religious figure like the Grandam, but not blessed with horns by the Crucible. Her Crucible blessing was likely something akin to scaled flesh or a moderate carapace, that grew as her faith in rot grew stronger. As for what Rot is... I think it's Propagation. It's a Cancer. Cancer can cause rotten flesh (when the clots restrict blood flow), but at its base level, it's the overstimulation of cellular structures to endlessly duplicate. Which would explain rotten flesh that outgrows it's original frame rather than sinking in on itself. And what feeds on rotting flesh? Bugs. It's all connected.

[@DonutSwordsman]

Did you see she will go into the shape of a heart as well? Pretty crazy details

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I did not! I hadn’t clocked that’s what she was doing! Crazy dude!!!

[@alexanderminas28]

Video: "these pests are the servants or subordinates of the outer god." Me: "That's cool, bro." The other part of me who died mostly from pests: "pests are pests and deserve to get slammed by my fury and anger!"

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Don’t worry I get you, that run to Malenia’s boss room elevator still haunts me